5 Bargain RFAs Philadelphia Flyers Should Trade For

Former Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Zac Rinaldo recently tweeted that the Flyers need a player that will electrify Wells Fargo Center. Fortunately for Rinaldo, Briere, and the Flyers, they might have the opportunity to scoop a guy that will do the trick for the low. The Boston Bruins are in what some might call “cap hell” right now. They have under $5 million in cap space to sign David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Bertuzzi, Trent Frederic, Dmitry Orlov, Connor Clifton, Jeremy Swayman, Garnet Hathaway, and Tomas Nosek, among others. That is a rather hefty portion of a record-breaking squad heading towards the exit signs after a monumental first round collapse against the Florida Panthers. Bergeron and Krejci calling it quits looks increasingly more likely, and the two Bruins legends earned a combined $3.5 million this year. That’s a lot more than a hometown discount.

Trent Frederic was instrumental in the Bruins’ record-breaking season. As a role player, he played his part and played it well. Frederic fights, hits, scores, and has some skill to boot. He just feels like a Flyer. Frederic is arbitration-eligible, and if he leaves, the Bruins will have Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle as their only two centers under contract. Conveniently, the Bruins do not have picks in the first two rounds of this year’s draft, and are also absent of their picks in the first three rounds of next year’s draft. Boston has bigger fish to fry than a bottom-sixer that had a good year, and they might need to make even more sacrifices to get their roster back in order. That may come in the form of another salary dump headed to Philadelphia.

Trent Frederic is what he is: a grinder who is fun to watch but not to play against. On the heels of a breakout year that included 17 goals and 31 points, the Bs cannot afford to keep him over a player like Jeremy Swayman. To make matters even worse for the Bruins, almost all of the aforementioned free agents have expressed a desire to test free agency, and the opportunity to reunite Bertuzzi and Frederic might be too good to pass up. The possibility of that hinges solely on the potential cost for Frederic, but as the famous saying goes, “beggars can’t be choosers”. The former 2016 first round pick Frederic should not cost the Flyers much at all, but it remains to be seen how many teams will be bidding for the Bruins’ agitator. If the Flyers don’t need to take another salary dump, adding Frederic and signing Bertuzzi would instantly inject life back into Wells Fargo Center.