Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman says to bet your mansion that the Flyers will trade Claude Giroux before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 21st, 2022. Friedman also mentioned that Ivan Provorov could be moved at the deadline. The Flyers have 2-plus months to turn the ship around but according to Moneypuck, the Flyers have under a 15% chance to make the playoffs. If the Flyers do trade Claude Giroux, GM Chuck Fletcher needs to win the trade on paper and in reality. The Flyers have long needed a pure goal scorer and a top pairing right-handed defenseman. Claude Giroux also has a No Movement Clause, so he holds all the cards where he is traded to. Fletcher needs to target quality over quantity, and he needs to retain on Giroux’s cap hit to maximize the return.
Giroux Goes Home
Flyers trade Claude Giroux (50% retained) and Linus Sandin to the Senators for LHD Jake Sanderson, LW Ridly Greig and a 2023 1st round pick (top 1 protected)
Ottawa is said to be extremely interested in Giroux and at one point it was said that would be one of the places he would waive his no movement clause for. In this deal, Claude Giroux and the Senators pre-negotiate a new long-term contract with Giroux for 5 years and $6 million per year. Giroux agreeing to a contract extension and the Flyers retaining 50% of the current contract increase the yield on this trade.
Jake Sanderson is a 19-year-old left-handed defenseman that currently plays for the University of North Dakota. He currently has 22 points in 17 games which leads the team. He was set to captain the USA Under-20 team before the World Junior Championships got cancelled and he is the son of former Flyer and NHLer Geoff Sanderson. Sanderson is the full package and might be one of the best skating defenseman prospects in recent memory. He is one of the best prospects in the league and should be NHL ready in 2022-23. Ridly Greig is also the son of former Flyer and NHLer Mark Greig. He has 28 points in 19 games with Brandon in the WHL. He plays with grit and should be a middle forward within 2 years in the NHL. The 2023 NHL Draft has some serious talent and Ottawa is unlikely to trade a top 5 pick in 2022. Ottawa is not likely to trade Tim Stutzle or Brady Tkachuk in a Claude Giroux trade because they want Giroux to elevate those players. Players like Erik Brannstrom, Lassi Thomson, and Tyler Boucher could all be part of this trade, but the Flyers focus on quality over quantity.
Three-Way Trade
Flyers trade Claude Giroux (50% retained-$4.1375m) to Arizona for future considerations
Arizona trades Claude Giroux (50% retained-$2.06m) to Colorado for 2024 3rd Round Pick
Colorado trades RHD Justin Barron, C Alex Newhook, and a 2023 1st round pick (top 5 protected) to the Flyers
Colorado needs to maximize this year because a lot of their supporting players (Nazem Kadri, Valeri Nichushkin, Andre Burakovsky, and Darcy Kuemper) are going to be unrestricted free agents in the summer. Kadri, Nichuskin and Burakovsky are all having career years as well. Arizona gets an extra draft pick to help Colorado stay under the cap. Rolling out a top-9 of MacKinnon, Rantanen, Landeskog, Kadri, Burakovsky, Nichuskin, Jost, Aube-Kubel and Giroux is a dangerous team. If goaltender Darcy Kuemper plays to his potential, Colorado should be a finalist for the Stanley Cup with this roster.
Both Justin Barron and Alex Newhook are former first round picks of Colorado Avalanche in 2020 and 2019. Barron is a talented right-handed defenseman that the Flyers have lacked severely for a long time. He currently has 11 points in 18 games with Colorado’s AHL affiliate. Barron was teammates with Flyers’ prospect Elliot Desnoyers in Halifax of the QMJHL last year. Alex Newhook is a natural center with explosive speed and skating ability that the Flyers desperately need. Newhook has 12 points in 24 games with Colorado this year. It is possible that Colorado does not give up Newhook who is considered one of the best prospects coming into the year. There should be enough competition to drive up the price of Giroux especially with the Flyers retaining half of his salary cap hit. Colorado gives up their 2023 1st round pick as well because they do not have a 2022 1st round pick from the Darcy Kuemper trade. Newhook and Barron give the Flyers two almost NHL ready players with high upside.
To the North
Flyers trade Claude Giroux (50% retained-$4.1375m), Nate Thompson and a 2023 4th round pick to Minnesota for C Viktor Rask, C Marco Rossi, RW Jordan Greenway, 2022 2nd round pick, and 2023 1st round pick (top 1 protected)
Minnesota adds some much-needed fire power into their lineup and help with their power play which is at 17% and almost the same as the Flyers’ dreadful power play. Giroux on a line with Kirill Kaprizov would be deadly. Giroux would solidify a very good top six forward group with Kaprizov, Kevin Fiala, Mats Zuccarello, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Ryan Hartman. Minnesota increases the salary cap room after this trade by the Flyers retaining and taking on the contract of Viktor Rask. Rask is a bottom six center who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. Marco Rossi is one of the top prospects outside of the NHL. He missed all last year with COVID and COVID side effects. Rossi has 23 points in 21 games in the AHL. Rossi is a natural center and should be able to contribute right away in the NHL. Jordan Greenway was drafted by current Flyers’ GM Chuck Fletcher when he was with Minnesota. Greenway is having a very disappointing year with only 9 points in 26 games. When he is on his game, he is a force to be reckoned with. Greenway will be a restricted free agent and could be a complimentary piece for the Flyers. The picks will be late first round picks, but they could be trade chips to retool in the offseason.
Most likely Claude Giroux will be traded for a 1st and 3rd round pick plus a B level prospect. It is a shame that it has come to this. I really hope that he can chase a Stanley Cup and comes back to the Flyers in the offseason. He is the best Flyers player of the last 20 years. He deserves better than what he has received from the Flyers’ organization and the Flyers’ fans.
