For those bothered by the Philadelphia Flyers standing pat and letting things fall into place – seemingly – it could come as good news that GM Daniel Brière is working the phones and receiving calls on some of his roster players. However, the caveat is that the price remains stringently high.
David Jiříček was the first domino to fall after the Columbus Blue Jackets moved the defenseman to the Minnesota Wild for Daemon Hunt and a slew of draft picks. Of course, the Flyers inquired and were interested, but Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell was asking for a lot more from their inter-divisional rival.
So with the first big move off the board, will that get the ball rolling well before the trade deadline? Over the last few years, contenders try to get most of their bigger deals done before the deadline with so many teams now in the hunt for a playoff spot.
That’s where the Flyers enter the conversation but as has been the case since Brière took over, his asking price doesn’t budge and it almost becomes a game of chicken to see who bites first.
As has been mentioned before, this isn’t your traditional rebuild, despite many clamouring that that was exactly what was required.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what their pathway is at the moment as it’s something in between a traditional rebuild and an aggressive one but they’re active and doing their due diligence, according to Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff.
Rasmus Ristolainen and Scott Laughton have generated a lot of buzz over the last few seasons, especially the latter. The Flyers haven’t moved on from the veteran but they have made attempts in the past like trying to flip him to Ottawa for Ridly Greig in 2021.
Other times, they’ve set a very high price that many GMs have turned aside, despite rumours of a late first round pick having been offered before the 2023 NHL Entry Draft from the St. Louis Blues.
Greig has been on the Flyers’ radar for quite some time and they’ve reportedly had serious conversations with Ottawa over the years regarding Shane Pinto, Mathieu Joseph, and Tyler Boucher. Nothing has materialized because Ottawa has apparently remained stubborn in their holdings on prospects like Greig and Pinto, but have made Josh Norris available.
Unfortunately, the Flyers are no longer interested due to his contract essentially being a mirror to Sean Couturier’s deal and he also has had some injuries over the years that would worry the brass.
As for Ristolainen, things are slightly different in the sense that while he has generated a lot of buzz, teams have wanted the Flyers to eat a large chunk of his remaining salary.
Last year it seemed like teams wanted at least half of his $5.1 million AAV retained but with a rejuvenated start to the season, the retention has dropped a little but still remains a contentious point. If the Flyers are to move on from Ristolainen, Brière has asked for equal value from what they traded to Buffalo to acquire him, which is a first round pick or a top-end prospect.
However, in reference to Laughton, it still seems like the Flyers are going to be holding onto the veteran despite all the interest and the fact that this year will be the last one where they can flaunt his contract/term as a bargaining chip.
TSN’s Darren Dreger touched on the topic on last Tuesday’s edition of “Insider Trading”.
Per The Score, “Dreger added that the Flyers continue to get calls on forward Scott Laughton, but the Metropolitan Division squad doesn’t want to trade him. So that would likely cost other teams a high draft pick, a top young prospect, or an NHLer if those talks were to continue closer to the March 7 deadline.”
So while the book isn’t completely shut on a Laughton trade, the Flyers seem to playing their version of chicken to see which side bites first on the asking price.
Those aren’t the only players in the current roster that are generating news. While Ristolainen and Laughton deals would reflect rebuilding moves, there are also “hockey trades” that could be made involving Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee.
The pair were both drafted with first round picks the Flyers received in the Brayden Schenn trade with the St. Louis Blues. Unfortunately, they haven’t panned out for one reason or another but some executives do believe that Farabee has been hamstrung by the lack of talented centres in Philadelphia.
“…and, according to more than one executive, has suffered from a lack of talent at the center ice position; one person thinks he will be a slam dunk top-six guy with the right pivot to play with.”
Of the two, Farabee has shown and done more, including a career best 50 points last season with a downtrodden offense. Unfortunately for both youngsters, they haven’t necessarily taken that much needed step under John Tortorella and with the veteran bench boss expected to stick around for the foreseeable future, something has to give.
While they can certainly wait a little longer with Farabee, the clock has seemingly stopped ticking with Frost. With another expiring contract hanging over his head, the young pivot has struggled once again, and the rumours are only growing by the day.
While injuries may have plagued the beginning of his career, Frost has struggled since becoming a staple in the lineup, especially under Tortorella. While he has had some great spurts like 40 points in the final 54 games in 2022-23 or 28 points in a 33-game stretch last year, he hasn’t been as consistent as required from a top-6 centre.
While the Flyers tried with Jiříček, the price seemed to be well out of reach, at least in terms of what was being served on the table.
“From what I’ve heard, the Flyers are open to moving off of any roster player not named Matvei Michkov in a deal for Jiříček,” said Dreger before the trade. “It doesn’t sound like prospects Oliver Bonk and Jett Luchanko are guys they are interested in moving off of. I’ve heard the Jackets are high on 2024 second round pick Charlie Elick, another right shot defender; maybe they’d rather add a forward if they have a theoretical in house replacement for Jiříček.”
The Flyers have been surging to the tune of an 8-2-2 record over their last 12 games with all cylinders firing as we enter the month of December. Their goaltending has solidified itself despite the absence of Samuel Ersson, Emil Andrae has added stability to the back-end, and Travis Konecny and Matvei Michkov are leading up front.
Where the Flyers are in the standings is almost irrelevant when it comes to their trade front. They have said time and again that they will listen to offers on just about anyone and while they’re doing the bare minimum in that department, they seem more reluctant to pull the trigger on a deal unless it completely favours them.
So what that means when it comes to Laughton and Ristolainen, for example, is hard to tell. A lot of teams are interested, a lot of teams have inquired, and they will be popular names on many trade boards heading into the trade deadline. However, the golden question to those in tune with the Flyers, is whether or not they actually pull the trigger – especially with Ristolainen’s value at an all-time high at the moment.
Trade season has come early, or at least trade rumour season has, and the Flyers are in the thick of things this year.
What they end up doing with players like Laughton, Ristolainen, Frost, or Farabee, one way or the other, will finally give us some much needed insight into their rebuilding plans and what to expect in the coming seasons.
