Flyers: Trading One Of The Defensive Propsects

I know, I know, this title sounds crazy and absurd. Especially since the Philadelphia Flyers haven’t had highly touted defensive prospects for far too long. But, just think about it, what could just one of these defensive prospects really get for a return?

Here are a couple reasons as to why I think the Flyers should:

The Philadelphia Flyers currently have five highly touted defensive prospects that they have accumulated over the last few seasons via the NHL draft.These five prospects include: Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Sam Morin, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Robert Hagg.

The sad, yet inevitable truth is that not every one of these prospects is going to pan out the way we expect them to. Teams are lucky if 3 of their 7 draft picks turn into NHL players at some point throughout their career. So maybe you should try to sell on hype alone.
We all know that defense is the hardest position for a young player to transition and get acclimated to at an NHL level. So, not every one of them will be able to have a smooth transition to the NHL.
The five prospects are currently based on hype and projections, yet they haven’t played an NHL game yet. One example of this is Luke Schenn.
The ultimate goal is a Stanley Cup and if moving one of these defenseman helps the Flyers acquire a first line winger or a top six forward, then why not consider it.
One of these defenseman could be used to sweeten up a potential trade deal to rid ourselves of an awful contract.

Here are the reasons why I don’t think the Flyers should:

When’s the last time the Philadelphia Flyers had any highly touted or highly desired defensive prospects in their farm system? This has always been an Achilles heal for the Flyers and why throw any of the defensive prospects to another team.
Being based on hype, your return will only be so much. The return will not be anything that you would expect it to be. Teams will use their lack of NHL time as leverage for any deal.
With an incredibly deep forward draft, Hextall could continue growing our farm team by drafting forwards since our goalie and defensive depth have been taken care of.
Teams will want one of the top defensive prospects such as Ivan Provorov or Travis Sanheim, they will not go for Robert Hagg.
Is the reward really going to be worth what the Flyers are potentially giving up? Probably not.
It’s much easier to find top forward prospects than it is to find number one pairing defensemen.
To me, the benefits don’t outweigh the risk

GM Ron Hextall has not preached patience just so he can ship out one or two of the defensive prospects. He has played the waiting game and looked towards the Flyers future, a future that includes at least 3 or 4 of the Flyers defensive prospects. So this is ultimately why I believe the Flyers will not consider trading one of their defensive prospects, even though the idea can be quite enticing.

Even with a type of return that the Flyers may be able to get, the Flyers are building from the back end out, and this year’s draft surely doesn’t look to disappoint in the forward department. This is an area that Ron Hextall will look to build up this year, hopefully by acquiring some more draft picks and creating cap space during this season before the trade deadline.

Either way, I thought this was a fun hypothetical question to ask. I’m quite interested to get your thoughts on this question and what you guys would do in a situation such as this.

Next: Ready Set Go!

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