Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher was finally able to unload forward Dale Weise and his contract Saturday afternoon by sending him and defenseman Christian Folin to the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman David Schlemko and forward Bryan Froese. The Flyers are retaining 19 percent of Folin’s salary.
Weise was placed on waivers by Philly on Jan. 15. After he cleared, he was demoted to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but it was reported at the time that the Flyers were trying to trade Weise before he was even demoted:
As you know, Dale Weise cleared waivers earlier today. However, he will not be sent to the AHL. At least not yet. Expectation is he will be traded.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 17, 2019
While the trade took some time to develop, Weise will now head back to where he had his most successful NHL days, in Montreal, though he will report to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.
Before the trade, on Friday night, it was reported by Inside AHL Hockey reporter, Tony Androckitis that defenseman prospect Phillipe Myers would be recalled by the Flyers. As the hours crept on Saturday, that seemed unlikely, and now we know why. The team was waiting to also move Folin with Weise.
As for the Flyers return, Schlemko was in a similar boat as Weise. He has plenty of NHL action under his belt, but was relegated to the AHL earlier in the season. Also like Weise, the former Shark has another year left, however at a slightly lesser $2.1 million cap hit.
Philly also received Bryan Froese, a 27-year-old forward, who played 48 games with the Canadiens last year. He scored 11 points, but has yet to play an NHL game this season. With the Rocket, he had 30 points in 46 games and his contract comes to an end at the conclusion of this season. Both Froese and Schlemko are likely to report to the Phantoms.
I think this is a favorable trade for the Flyers, but both teams will likely walk away happy. For starters, the Flyers opened up a roster spot for when Myers is officially recalled, Schlemko will slot into a pairing for the Phantoms and in a greater need. Although the cap savings is only roughly about $25,000, that’s still some money off the books for the Flyers — and a lesser buyout cap hit should they decide that rout with Schlemko. However, he’s also a safe number seven blueliner option this year and next.
For the Canadiens, they added some depth with Weise and Folin for a playoff run that the Flyers were unlikely to be a part of. Froese will help the Phantoms this year, and could be a candidate for a two-way contract next year, but he won’t fit into the Flyers’ plans.