Flyers trade Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild

The Philadelphia Flyers have made a trade early on deadline day, sending winger Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild for defenseman David Jiricek.

The Flyers have had a logjam on the wing all season, and are set to welcome Porter Martone as soon as the end of this season. Having Brink in the lineup also forced head coach Rick Tocchet to move Matvei Michkov to the left wing to try and balance the lines. Now, with Brink gone, a roster spot opens up to move Michkov back to his preferred right side and call up a prospect--perhaps Alex Bump--from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Brink finishes his Flyers tenure with 201 games played, 36 goals, 58 assists, and 94 points.

In Jiricek, the Flyers are getting a high-ceiling prospect that was selected sixth overall in the 2022 draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Flyers, in fact, had an opportunity to draft Jiricek at fifth overall, but passed on him for Cutter Gauthier, who ultimately refused to sign with the organization. So bringing in Jiricek is a bit of a full circle moment.

Jiricek was then traded to the Minnesota Wild for four draft picks, including a first-round pick in 2025. He struggled to stick in the lineup with the Wild, playing 25 games in the NHL this year and registering zero points. The 22-year old has a lot of potential, but there are concerns that his skating will limit his ultimate NHL ceiling. However, the Flyers have shown in the past--including with Brink--that they believe they can fix poor skating.

There was reportedly a belief within the Flyers organization that they needed to add a defensemen with a big shot to their power play. Jiricek certainly fits that bill. He was playing with Minnesota’s AHL team so it will be interesting to see if the Flyers believe he’s ready to step back into the NHL.

Adding a 6-foot-4 right-shot defenseman by dealing from a place of strength is a tidy bit of business for Flyers GM Danny Briere to start off deadline day--and he may be just getting started as Rasmus Ristolainen, Nic Deslauriers, and Carl Grundstrom's names continue to circulate in trade rumors.