Briere Makes A Splash With First Big Move As Flyers GM

For better or worse, the Flyers have traded franchise defensmen Ivan Provorov to Columbus in a three way deal with LA. The Flyers landed an array of picks and players for their trouble and for the first time in years the team stands a chance of reaping long term benefits as a result of a trade. Briere has started his rebuild in fashion.

First, Flyers fans must prepare themselves for Provorov to have a career season. He will be surrounded by more talent at forward, which should make for better point totals. On defense, if Zack Werenski and Jake Bean come back from upper body injuries, and if prospects like the addition of Provorov, the Blue Jackets defense will be a very formidable group.

Provorov will have help for the first time in seasons, and will see a jump in his statistics. This may give the Flyers faithful a case of seller’s remorse, but it is important to think of whatever Provorov’s stats look like next year, it was a reality that was not possible with the Flyers. To that end, the lense that Briere should be judged through, is this the best deal we could possibly get for Provorov.

As a base line, we could use the Ristolainen trade.  In that deal, the Flyers gave up Robert Hagg, a first and second round pick for Ristolainen. Anyone miss Chuck Fletcher yet?  Provorov is clearly superior to Ristolainen, but the Flyers getting a first and second round pick is a good start.  In addition the first round pick (22nd over all) is for this year’s draft. This not only accelerates the rebuilding process, adding another high end prospect in the pipe line this year, but this year’s draft is thought to be a deep draft, so the Flyers could luck into a star with a pick at 22.

Outside of Provorov, the Flyers gave up very little in Connauton and Hodgson, two players that would not have a spot on teams with deeper rosters. The Flyers grabbed Cal Petersen, Sean Walker and Helge Grans in return.  Petersen is the player with the worst asset profile. He has two seasons remaining on a $5 million per season cap number. He is also two seasons removed from a respectable save percentage numbers at the NHL level.

I do not think his arrival means any kind of trouble for Hart, or any of the other goalies.  This appears to be a pure cap dump by LA, who is on the hook for 30% of Provorov’s salary.  While his cap number is high and his position on the depth chart low, Petersen could get to see time in the NHL, especially with the Flyers history with goalie injuries.  If Petersen gets hot, and if there is a rash of injuries, he could be of value to another team.

Much like the Fletcher salary dump trade of Gostisbehere, the Kings get $5 million in cap relief between Petersen and Walker’s $2.65 million annual salary.  Walker is a functional third pair player and is in the final year of his contract.  The Kings had likely determined Walker as surplus with prospects Brandt Clarke and Kim Nousiainen knocking at the door.  Walker will get a chance to play with the Flyers and will likely be shopped at this year’s trade deadline for a third or fourth round pick.

The Flyers’ prize for taking the Petersen contract was prospect Helge Grans. If this name sounds familiar to buzz readers, it was because he was mentioned as a possible better draft option than Emil Andrae. Grans has the physical tools to play in the NHL, but has been dogged with consistency issues in their application.

Grans is a RHD and 6’3. He has played two seasons in the AHL so he seems primed to break into an NHL lineup, especially a roster like the Flyers. Scouts loved his passing and his understanding of the game. They were less thrilled with his disinterest in defending physically. Grans looks like a solid third pair player this season, with some upside, an upgrade from Connauton.

While this is not a steal, like the Ristolainen deal was for Buffalo, this is not a bad return. Who can say if the locker room was as fractured as the fan base over the pride night debacle, and if that factored into trading Provorov. It was clear that the Flyers had not found a suitable partner for Provorov, and it seemed likely he would have had another underwhelming season in 2023. It is hard not to be impressed with Briere’s problem solving and salesmanship in landing a deal that seems in line with the market. Briere and his front office has captured my attention and has me wondering what is next.