The rumors continue to fly as we are only two weeks away from the NHL Trade Deadline. There are plenty of names out there that are expected to be traded before March 3rd. One of them could be Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk.
The team was said to be shopping him last summer. However, they reportedly did not want to pay the price of attaching a first-round pick in order to make a trade happen. Now in the final year of the five-year deal he signed with Philadelphia, it’s looking more and more likely that he will not finish the year with the Flyers.
The biggest names on the block at the moment are Timo Meier and Jakob Chychrun. Meier is in the final year of a four-year deal that paid him $6M. He could see a raise as he is likely to set a new career high in goals this season. Chychrun, while making less than van Riemsdyk, still has two more years remaining at a cap hit of $4.6M. He also has a modified no-trade clause.
So if teams strike out on either of those players or are looking for a more cost-effective player, they can look towards van Riemsdyk. While currently making $7M, the Flyers are almost certainly expected to retain part of his salary. It would not be surprising to see them have to keep 50% in order to make a deal happen.
There have been teams reportedly sniffing around. On the most recent addition of 32 Thoughts, Jeff Marek brought up the Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets, and Vegas Golden Knights as teams looking for extra goal-scoring. While he can be known as a streaky scorer, van Riemsdyk could still add secondary scoring to a team looking to add to that department. He has established himself as a solid point producer in this league, typically averaging 30+ points a season.
His stats this season aren’t going to help, however. He has just nine goals and a modest 22 points in 35 games played. Also known as a power play scorer, van Riemsdyk has just four points on the man advantage. But teams should not be looking at him to be their star. He is good to chip in on offense when you need it and can still help a playoff-bound team
If Philadelphia can find a way to at least get a second-round pick back, that would be great. Pinpointing the return he should bring back isn’t as simple, though. There isn’t a true comparison to show what the Flyers should be looking for. It’s better to say what they aren’t likely to get back. Don’t look for a first-round pick or an NHL-caliber player. That is unless Philadelphia is forced to take another similar cap hit back in return, something they aren’t likely to want to do.
With two weeks to go until the deadline, we will soon find out what happens next.