Well… it seems like the offseason dam finally burst this week as multiple trades and signings were made in the NHL over the past couple days.
The New Jersey Devils traded for Jacob Markström, the San Jose Sharks traded for Ty Dellandrea, the Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings made a Darcy Kuemper for Pierre-Luc Dubois swap, and the Vancouver Canucks extended Filip Hronek to an eight-year deal worth $7.25M AAV.
After all this madness calmed down, there was this report that came from TSN employee Travis Yost.
Naturally, the level headed fanbase of the Philadelphia Flyers have took this report very normally and… oh who am I kidding, all hell broke loose. Speculation left and right came not just from Flyers fans, but all hockey fans, wondering what the trade could be, and their thoughts on if certain players were involved.
As the day went on, more information started to come out from Anthony Di Marco from The Fourth Period and Charlie O’Connor from PHLY Sports.
So… there are a lot of names and a lot of possible picks to be thrown around in this trade. No one really seems to have an idea of what’s going on.
As previously mentioned, Scott Laughton‘s name has been thrown around.
Some people say the Flyers are trying to move up to pick seven.
Some are saying they’re acquiring a defenseman from Ottawa.
Travis Konecny‘s name has been thrown around.
Darren Dreger of TSN seems to think nothing is going on.
So if there is something going on, what is it? Here are some possible Flyers-Senators trades we could see.
*NOTE: These trades are in tiers from “Probably what the trade is” to “Pipe dreams”*
Tier 1: Probably what the trade is
Flyers trade Scott Laughton for Pick 25
I mean, after all the hype and speculation around this trade, the most boring scenario is probably the most likely scenario. Laughton has been linked to the Senators for about two years now, and GM Daniel Brière needs to cash in before Laughton tanks his value even further. There seemed to be a feeling after the season that Laughton was going to be moved, and this would be a team that makes the most sense for him to go to.
Flyers trade Scott Laughton and Pick 32 for Pick 7
The other likely scenario is the Flyers trying to jump up in the draft to make sure they get their guy while also keeping pick 12 to keep building the roster for the future. Adding pick 32 to Laughton allows the Flyers to grab that top 10 pick.
Tier 2: Other possible trades
Flyers trade Scott Laughton and PHI 3rd for Jakob Chychrun and OTT 2nd
At the beginning of the “New Era of Orange”, Keith Jones made it clear the Flyers were planning to build from the blue line out. Jakob Chychrun is what the Flyers seem to be looking for in that sense. The Senators are thin at center and deep at defenseman, with not enough cap space to extend all of them. This trade would help both teams as Laughton is a proven vet who is under a very reasonable cap hit while also being able to play all three forward positions.
Flyers trade Scott Laughton and Pick 32 for Jakob Chychrun and Pick 25
This trade is basically the same trade as the previous one, but allowing the Flyers to jump up and possibly grab an extra first round pick.
Tier 3: Maybe?
Flyers trade Scott Laughton and Pick 12 for Thomas Chabot
With Thomas Chabot‘s name being thrown around, and the Flyers looking for top pairing defensemen, Chabot makes sense. The Flyers do have two picks in the first round, and if none of their guys are available at 12, they might pull the trigger and trade the pick along with Laughton to get a big name player from the Senators.
Flyers trade Travis Konecny w/extension guarantee for Thomas Chabot and Pick 25
The other direction this could go is if the Flyers grab a guy like Cole Eiserman at 12, which would yet another wing in the Flyers’ system. The Flyers would have an odd man out between Konecny, Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, Joel Farabee, and Eiserman in that case; Konecny is the only one in that group without a long term deal or being an RFA. He is also the oldest of the bunch by a large margin.
Flyers trade Travis Konecny w/extension guarantee and Pick 32 for Thomas Chabot and Pick 7
Again, if Brière doesn’t feel like he’s getting enough value from the previously mentioned trades, he could possibly throw in the Florida pick to try and jump into the top 10 here.
Tier 4: Pipe dreams
Flyers trade Scott Laughton and Travis Konecny w/extension guarantee for Jakob Chychrun, Shane Pinto, and Pick 7
This would be one of the two best-case scenarios for the Flyers. They keep their two first round picks and adding a second one. They also get a defenseman and a young center to help the biggest holes on their roster. The Senators finally push in the “win now” chips after years of purgatory of being labeled as “ready to compete” while also keeping pick 25 to continue to build their farm just in case.
Flyers trade Scott Laughton and Travis Konecny w/extension guarantee for Thomas Chabot, Shane Pinto, and Pick 25
Again, it’s the same trade structure, but with more value coming in from the defenseman than from the pick coming back. All the same reasoning as the previous trade stays the same however.
So while we probably won’t know what this trade will be until closer to draft night, it’ll be interesting to see the speculating for the next week and a half from this fanbase. This trade might not even happen! Laughton was speculated to be moved last offseason too and when draft night came there was nothing. I’m sure Flyers fans will be normal and not at all over-reactionary at all if/when this unknown trade finally is completed.
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