After being held out of Sunday afternoon’s Flyers game, it was only a matter of time until Justin Braun was on his way out. Speaking before the game, Chuck Fletcher mentioned there had been a lot of interest in Braun. With a player who tends to block a lot of shots, it was imperative that they held him out with a potential deal on the way.
And a little over 24 hours later, Braun is heading to the New York Rangers. In return, the Flyers received a 2023 third-round pick. There was no salary retained in the deal. Braun is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer so the Rangers are likely trying to bulk up their defense for the playoffs.
Pending the official trade call, but Rangers get Justin Braun from the Flyers in exchange for a 3rd RD pick in '23.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 21, 2022
No salary retention.
The Rangers, who have had a quick turnaround, currently sit second in the Metropolitan Division. Braun joins the likes of star defenseman Adam Fox, 40-goal scorer Chris Kreider, and Vezina-hopeful Igor Shesterkin. Braun does join a crowded backend as the Rangers now have eight defensemen on their roster with this move. That likely won’t stand, but Braun’s role will certainly be different than what it was with the Flyers.
The Flyers originally acquired Braun in 2019 for a second round pick that year and a 2020 third round pick. Braun has performed admirably while in Philadelphia. He ended up signing a two-year extension after the first year with the Flyers.
While not known as an offensive defenseman, he has tied his career high of five goals and is potentially on pace to pass his highest point total while in Philadelphia. In total, Braun has nine goals and 41 points in 176 games with the Flyers.
While Braun is heading towards the end of his career, he helped provide a veteran leadership while paired with Ivan Provorov for a large part of this season. Moving onto New York, Braun will be able to help do the same there, as well as provide them with playoff experience. He has appeared in 100 career postseason games, most of those coming with the San Jose Sharks. He did appear in 16 playoff games with the Flyers during his first season with the organization.
The Rangers and Flyers play each other two more times this season. They will play at Madison Square Garden on April 3rd and wrap up their season season at the Wells Fargo Center on April 13th.
With this move, expect to see Cam York remain with the team for the rest of the season, barring any big moves or injuries. He has taken over Braun’s spot on the top pairing recently and hasn’t looked out of place. This could also open the door for a potential Egor Zamula recall at some point as well.