One of the many storylines that has developed regarding the David Jiricek-Bobby Brink trade is that when the Flyers drafted Porter Martone, there were too many players at right wing. Someone was expendable, and it happened to be Brink. Brink was talented enough to bring a (hopefully) talented return.
However, things don't happen in a vacuum. Causes have effects, and effects tend to ripple out. While Jiricek is in the AHL right now, he'll most likely be donning the orange and black fairly soon. This means someone on defense is now expendable and will have to go. What does the potential arrival of Jiricek mean for Philly's future?
For the sake of argument, unless something drastically changes, we can safely assume that Travis Sanheim, Cam York, and Nick Seeler will be back next season. Jamie Drysdale and Jiricek will both be RFAs this year, and you can safely bet that they both will be extended. Ok, that's five guys. Who's left?
First, let's hit Noah Juulsen. He's had a career year, in terms of stats, filling in for either injured players or those who've disappointed. He will be a free agent at the end of this year. Most likely, considering the dearth of prospects coming up, he's gone unless Rick Tocchet really wants him around to fill the role he played this year: depth defender and mentor to the younger players. If that happens, he'll be signed to another cheap one-year deal.
Then there is Rasmus Ristolainen. He'll be in the final year of his contract. He could be moved in the offseason. He could play the entire season. He could be extended during the year. He could be moved during the year. At this point, who really knows? We've been talking about moving him almost as long as he's been here. Since this will be his last season under contract, the chances of him being moved are probably greater. But if the team remains high on him....
Next on the roster is Emil Andrae. It's kind of surprising that he wasn't moved, considering that the team is souring on him. The sad thing is, it's hard to figure out why. He's putting on his best offensive numbers and is a +11 as a bottom-line pairing. He doesn't take a lot of penalties, he's been more physical than in past seasons, and has blocked more shots. Still, he is on the outs. Maybe, as a pending free agent, they will trade his rights before free agency begins and get a mid-level pick for him. Either that or he is just allowed to walk. Most likely, you will not see him as a Flyer past June.
That takes care of the roster. What about the AHL prospects? One of my theories about the acquisition of Jiricek is that the team is souring on some of them. After all, we've been hearing how "great" guys like Helge Grans, Spencer Gill, Hunter McDonald, Christian Kyrou, and Artem Guryev are supposed to be. Likewise, Oliver Bonk is waiting and should soon join the ranks of the Flyers.
Does that mean that the team wants to move some of these kids for someone/something else? We're running out of room with a glut of defensive prospects coming. Granted, a veteran (Seeler, perhaps?) could be moved to make way for some of these younger guys. Still, just counting those prospects the Flyers have acquired over the last year or two and/or have called up at times (and including Jiricek) is a full NHL squad of defenders plus a guy on the bench.
So either the prospects are not projecting as well as we thought/have been told or we are preparing packages to get draft picks/other players this coming offseason. We'll just have to wait it out and see. One thing is for sure, however. For some of these players, their time within the Flyers organization is running out.