The Philadelphia Flyers have reportedly dealt defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere to the Arizona Coyotes. NHL Network correspondent Craig Morgan broke the news shortly after the expansion draft “trade freeze” ended at 1pm on Thursday.
Per sources, the Coyotes are close to completing a deal for Flyers LHD Shayne Gostibehere, who has two years left on a deal with an AAV of $4.5M.
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) July 22, 2021
The Flyers needed to include second-round and seventh-round draft picks in 2022 in order to move Gostisbehere’s contract. Considering he also cleared waivers in March and passed through the expansion draft without protection, no deal without sweeteners was at all likely.
“Ghost” had one of the most memorable rookie seasons in franchise history in 2015-16, when he rewrote the record books for rookie defensemen. He somehow finished as the runner-up for the Calder Trophy despite a measurably more valuable presence on his team than the award’s recipient, Artemi Panarin.
He has been the subject of trade rumors for the majority of his time in Philadelphia since then. Inconsistent play and defensive struggles have led him to be kept out of the lineup for considerable periods of time during his tenure.
The Flyers added defenseman Ryan Ellis at a $6.25 million cap hit over the weekend in a deal that included defenseman Philippe Myers and forward Nolan Patrick. The subtractions of Myers’ $2.5 million cap hit and the additional $4.5 million saved by moving Gostisbehere mean that general manager Chuck Fletcher has actually netted cap space on the blue line while also acquiring the team’s greatest need in a top-pair defenseman.
Gostisbehere, even when he wasn’t at the height of his true potential, brought value to the Flyers as a third-pair defenseman who could man the blue line on the power play unit. Given the overall direction that Fletcher is looking to go in, moving the once glorified hero of the fan base seemed almost like a necessity.
He has consistently been referred to in circles around the NHL as a player who could benefit from a change of scenery.