The Philadelphia Flyers remained busy today, trading forward Derick Brassard to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2023 4th-round pick. The Flyers now own two 4th-rounders in the 2023 draft, which is deemed to be very deep and chock full of talent. Philadelphia has nine picks overall in that draft, including their own first-rounder still as well as three 3rd-round selections.
Brassard gives the Oilers a depth option at forward behind the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisiaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, Evander Kane, and Kailer Yamamoto. The 34 year-old served as a depth piece in Philadelphia for much of his short time here, and he still has great playmaking abilities and is still good defensively and should be a solid fit for Edmonton.
Brassard joined the Flyers on a one-year contract over the summer, and he racked up 6 goals and 10 assists for 16 points in 31 games in his abbreviated stay in Philadelphia. He has missed a lot of time this season with lingering hip issues, but when healthy the Hull, Quebec native has been a good option up the middle for the Flyers.
Brassard is a veteran of 936 NHL games split between the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, New York Islanders, Arizona Coyotes, and the Flyers, making Edmonton his tenth stop in the NHL. He has also played in 117 playoff games over his career, including a Stanley Cup Final run in 2014 with the Rangers and two Eastern Conference Finals appearances with the Senators in 2017 and Islanders in 2020, respectively.
The Oilers will be able to help alleviate some of the workload off of their two star centers in McDavid and Draisaitl with Brassard if he can stay healthy. He’s a player that can play in all situations and can be effective when deployed properly.
Edmonton’s depth forwards have struggled again this season, and the dynamic duo have been tasked with shouldering the Oilers to playoff glory once again, and having an all-around, albeit older, center in Brassard can help even the workload a little bit.
