Philadelphia Flyers Acquire Nate Thompson From Montreal Canadiens

The Philadelphia Flyers have made a move on this Trade Deadline day.

Well, everybody, it appears Philadelphia Flyers General Manager Chuck Fletcher has done a thing prior to the Trade Deadline expiring on Monday afternoon. It’s been confirmed by the team and various reports that they have acquired forward Nate Thompson from the Montreal Canadiens for a 5th round pick. The middle-round selection is expected to be for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Thompson makes just one million dollars through this season, per Cap Friendly, and is set to become an Unrestricted Free Agent in July.

This is purely a depth move from Fletcher and company. The well-experienced Thompson, who’s in his 13th year at the NHL level, doesn’t move the needle a whole lot on the offensive end of the ice, scoring 14 points in 63 games with Montreal this year. He’s netted over 20 points just one time during his career and has never had more than ten goals in a single season. Not overly productive. What Thompson can do is bring a robust defensive skill set that can be utilized on the penalty kill, as he received over two minutes of average Time on Ice while shorthanded from the Habs coaching staff. He’s a physical guy, as well, already notching 103 hits to his name in 2019-20. The Alaskan forward will likely slot in with the Flyers Bottom-6, but it’s unknown who he’ll enter the lineup for.

Philadelphia now possesses 1,082,368 million dollars in cap space after this move. The roster stands at 22, but that could change before the day is up. Fletcher may opt to send someone to Lehigh Valley if he deems fitting, so stay tuned on that front.

While Thompson isn’t the flashiest of transactions from Fletcher, he should provide the team with size, defense, physicality, and a point every now again on the Flyers lower two lines.