With the regular season only a few weeks away, the Philadelphia Flyers are remaining busy on the trade market as they continue to engage in conversations with the Ottawa Senators.
Just over a week ago it seemed that the Flyers were trying to make a move for pending RFA, Shane Pinto, however the Senators have remained firm that he is untouchable. That hasn’t perturbed the Flyers as they would be willing to help Ottawa out by taking on Mathieu Joseph’s contract, but they would like a sweetener in either a pick or prospect Tyler Boucher.
With the Senators against the salary cap after signing Vladimir Tarasenko, they need every penny possible right now to strike a deal with Pinto. The Flyers were amongst several teams circling the waters like sharks to see if they could take a bite out of Ottawa’s misfortunes. With Pierre Dorion standing firm on Pinto, most teams have circled away – except Daniel Briere and the Flyers.
Every year there’s a handful of teams looking to unload undesirable contracts onto rebuilding teams. Joseph’s contract isn’t as egregious as some of the others, but the Senators can’t afford his $2.95 million AAV – over the next 3 seasons – with bigger fish to fry. For the first time in a very long time, the Flyers enter the chat on the other side of the table.
There’s definitely interest on the Flyers’ side of things to bring in a player like Joseph, but they won’t just willingly take him, his AAV, and his term without asking for a sweetener.
When Briere announced to the world that the Flyers were open for business, the Senators were one of several teams to seriously inquire about Scott Laughton. The veteran utility player has been on the radar of a lot of contenders for years and the Senators’ Boucher was mentioned going the other way in trade packages. The Flyers balked on moving Laughton but have returned to the scene of the crime to see if they can pry Boucher in a different move altogether.
Joseph turns 27 in February of next year, was drafted in the 4th round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning and had scored double digit goals in 3 of his first 4 seasons before 2022-23. In parts of 4 seasons with the Lightning, he scored 37 goals and 70 points in 221 games, averaged 11:54 TOI, and blocked 343 shots while playing a lot on the penalty kill.
Just ahead of the trade deadline in 2022, the Lightning traded Joseph and a 2024 fourth round pick to Ottawa for Nick Paul. 11 games post-deadline, Joseph scored 4 goals and 12 points, was a plus-8, averaged 16:50 TOI, and finished with 21 hits and 7 blocks. He was then signed to a 4-year-deal worth 11 million, looking to capitalize on his hot start in Ottawa.
With the acquisition of Claude Giroux, Joseph was shifted down to the third line and played a bottom-6 role but still averaged 14:01 a night. Unfortunately, his scoring touch disappeared as he finished the season with 3 goals and 18 points in 56 games.
He suffered two significant injuries as well, a lower body injury on the 8th of December that kept him out for over a month and another lower body injury in March. Before his first injury, Joseph scored 2 goals and 9 points in 25 games, followed that up with 1 goal and 8 points in the 22 games after returning from the first injury, and then after missing 2 weeks he ended the season with 1 assist in his final 9 games.
On top of the lack of scoring and loss of confidence, Joseph was made a healthy scratch for breaking team rules on the 19th of January. In a game where he was healthy enough to return from injury and potentially facing off against his brother – Pierre-Oliver Joseph on Pittsburgh – in front of 50 family and friends, the Senators scratched him.
Joseph took responsibility for the situation.
“This was an internal thing,” Joseph said following Thursday’s optional morning practice before the club flew to Pittsburgh for Friday’s rematch against the Penguins. “Obviously, I (made) a mistake and I was ready to assume the consequences of it. This is on me and it’s my responsibility. I think I know I can be better and I will be. I’m an adult. I can deal with this. I think it’s part of hockey and it’s part of life and I’m ready to move forward and I’m excited to get back in the lineup.”
Head coach D.J. Smith understood what was at stake but had to do what was best for the player and team in a situation like that.
“It has kind of been blown out of proportion, but it was a non-hockey issue,” said Smith. “He sat his game and we welcome him back with open arms and we need him.
“It’s hard. I think everyone knows that I care for the players, I think every coach does. That’s a special moment for their parents to watch the boys play against each other, but I guess all I will say on that is that you’ve got to do what’s right by the hockey team and the team comes first in every scenario. And if that isn’t the case, then situations like this may arise. It is an unfortunate situation, but we’re moving on from it and I need (Joseph) to be a real good player for us.”
While he struggled to score and stay in the lineup, Joseph still brings about several intangibles that the Flyers would be interested in. He’s a dependable bottom-6 forward who can defend and kill penalties, and he also finishes his checks and blocks shots when needed.
Although the Flyers have Nicolas Deslauriers, Garnet Hathaway, and Ryan Poehling, he plays a game that Briere and John Tortorella are fond of. He is signed through for 3 more seasons so he would be seen as a piece for the rebuild over a Ryan Poehling who’s currently signed for just the one season.
The sweetener or the prize of this deal would most likely be prospect, Tyler Boucher. The son of former Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher was drafted with the 10th overall pick in 2021 and was already linked to the club earlier in the summer. The Flyers have also been perusing their draft picks and would want a first or second round pick if the Senators are to not include Tyler Boucher.
In 2021-22, Boucher played 17 games for Boston University where he scored 2 goals and 3 points before deciding to conclude his collegiate career for developmental reasons and signed with the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL. In 24 games, he scored 7 goals and 14 points in 2021-22 before improving to the tune of 10 goals and 17 points in 21 games in 2022-23. He also represented Team USA at the World Juniors where he scored 3 goals and 4 points in 6 games, capturing the bronze medal.
In his draft season, EliteProspects had this to say about Boucher:
“There’s no player more physical in the draft class. Sometimes, it’s a small nudge, an extra cross-check, or a smart play to cut off the hands. There’s also plenty of bone-crushing hits along the boards. His physical game is insane. Perfectly balancing scoring and supporting positioning, he’s always a passing option. He’s also a crafty shooter, shooting under defenders’ sticks or changing the angle”
Boucher has had to deal with a few injuries over the last few seasons including knee and shoulder surgeries in 2021-22 as well as bouts with COVID-19. The following season he then dealt with a shoulder injury that cut his year short. He was expected to be a big part of Ottawa’s Rookie Camp this summer but was held out due to a groin injury that was more so precautionary than anything else, according to the Senators.
While he is still nursing an injury, Boucher missed Rookie Camp as well as the first 2 games of the preseason. Nevertheless, he is an intriguing enough prospect to add to the pipeline that several pundits have in the top-5 to top-10 league-wide. Boucher has the intangibles, the skill set, and the motor to be a productive NHLer, however injuries have derailed his development just a bit. Fortunately, that hasn’t stopped the Flyers from making their desires known to Ottawa.
The two teams have been discussing a move for quite some time so it seems that Ottawa might be second guessing themselves. They’re up against the corner with the lack of salary cap and their desire to extend Pinto. Joseph has been on the trade block this summer and the Flyers are more than willing to help out but want a pretty solid sweetener in return in the form of Boucher – or perhaps a high draft pick, potentially their first rounder. It’s a steep asking price, but the Flyers hold the slight bit of leverage over the slightly desperate Senators who are looking to qualify for the post-season for the first time since 2017.
The Flyers will carry $7.117 million in cap space once Ryan Ellis finds his way back onto LTIR, which is more than enough to eat up Joseph’s contract and still have plenty leftover. Since they’re in a rebuilding phase, available salary cap means a lot less than it did in years prior, but still expect the new regime to be aggressive on the trade market to expedite their plan. Currently they are projected to have over $21 million in cap space next summer with Carter Hart and Owen Tippett as their main priorities, so Joseph barely puts a dent into their plans and if they can get a high pick or Boucher on the side, it only helps their cause.
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