Philadelphia Flyers: 3 Trade Destinations for Travis Sanheim

Travis Sanheim was already included in trade discussions with the St. Louis Blues, but the Philadelphia Flyers have options. 

A trade originally involving Kevin Hayes and St. Louis Blues spiraled out of control to the point where several NHL players were involved. Rumors will be rumors, but it seems to be unanimously agreed upon that Travis Sanheim was included in a potential trade, as was Blues defender Torey Krug, who was reportedly unwilling to waive his no-movement clause. Of course, no such trade has come to fruition yet, but both Anthony DiMarco of The Fourth Period and Anthony SanFilippo of Crossing Broad reported that teams have been calling about Sanheim.

DiMarco was able to confirm that the Winnipeg Jets have had conversations about Travis Sanheim already. The Jets are expected to trade Pierre-Luc Dubois in the coming days, and have already granted the Los Angeles Kings permission to talk terms on a contract with the center. Without Dubois on the books, the Jets today have a hair under $13 million in cap space. Blake Wheeler, Nino Niederreiter, Mark Scheifele, and Connor Hellebuyck are all heading into contract years, and Hellebuyck has drawn significant trade interest himself in recent weeks. The Jets currently hold the 18th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, but they are without a second-round pick, which is something the Philadelphia Flyers might have been interested in as they don’t have one themselves. SanFilippo speculates that the Jets likely won’t be willing to move the 18th pick for Sanheim, who is signed at a cap hit of $6.25 million until 2031.

The Winnipeg Jets also might not be willing to part ways with top prospects Cole Perfetti or Rutger McGroarty for a Josh Morrissey understudy, but they might be willing to exchange a defense prospect in return for immediate help in the form of Travis Sanheim. The Philadelphia Flyers should be all-in on getting prospects and draft picks, and the Jets have a few decent prospects that are in need of a shot at NHL game time. One such player might be Ville Heinola, who has just 35 NHL appearances to his name since being drafted 20th overall in 2019. Heinola has 11 points in those 35 games, and has racked up a whopping 75 in 111 AHL games. If the Jets are committed to winning now and acquiring Sanheim, the Flyers must be keen on swooping in for Heinola and slotting him in behind Cam York full-time this season.