Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher will have his hands full in the next few weeks. The Flyers are good enough that they might be able to make the playoffs based on their post-Christmas surge. If that is the case, they will need to add a few pieces while navigating the salary cap. The Flyers are also bad enough that they will most likely miss the playoffs. If they do make it, they will most likely be a one-and-done against a team like Boston or Carolina.
There are a lot of names on the market right now. Erik Karlsson is this year’s biggest prize. Some of the rumors have him coming to Toronto. It looks as if the Canes and Devils may end up in a bidding war over Bo Horvat.
So, while we are a month away from really seeing how the trade market will shape up, we are also about a month away from realistically seeing where the Flyers will go. Will they be a seller? Will they be a buyer? Right now, it could go either way. But IF the Flyers are sellers, these five players would most likely be the ones finding themselves in a new uniform.
Flyers – #5: Ivan Provorov
The recent controversy aside, there have been rumors for a while that perhaps he and/or the Flyers are not happy with him being here. Maybe he has asked for a trade. Maybe the Flyers are shopping him. Everyone denies it, but the rumors are still floating around.
With that said, he has two years on his contract at over $6 million each. If the Flyers are buyers, I could see him being a piece in trying to get someone. With the rise of Cam York and with Egor Zamula waiting in the AHL, it is possible, however unlikely, you could see a defender like Provorov or Rasmus Ristolainen traded away. The contracts would be the hard part to move.
Most like, he’ll stay on the Flyers, as will Risto. Both of them are in kind of the same boat: they show flashes of defensive brilliance, they can show that they can contribute on offense, but they can also make crucial mistakes on defense and they are not consistently good enough to warrant their high salaries.
However, if the Flyers are selling off pieces, they have to look to the future. Every team needs good defense. The question remains: Are the defensive pieces they have now adequate enough or can the team spare one of the mainstays to acquire a goal-scoring forward and bring up some young prospects?