How Do Recent Trades Affect The Flyers?
By Scott Cole
As a teacher, you pay attention to the news when inclement winter weather is in the forecast. Will school be canceled or will you have to go in? However, what's interesting is that some school districts wait to see who will close first. Many hesitate to be the first one to make that call. General managers in sports are similar. Teams wait to see what other moves the other teams are making before they make a move This comes into play around trade deadline time.
The Flyers are expected to be a player at the deadline, however, nobody is sure to what capacity. Will they add pieces to go on a playoff run? Will Daniel Briere sell off some valuable pieces to stock up on prospects and draft picks to provide for a better tomorrow? Briere has kept his cards close to his chest, not revealing his plans.
Well, the dominoes around the league are starting to fall. There has been a run on defenders. On Wednesday, Chris Tanev was traded from the Flames to the Stars. Then, the Ducks traded Ilya Lyubushkin to the Maple Leafs. The Devils beefed up by acquiring Kurtis MacDermid from the Avs. With the Flyers possessing two cheap and available defenders, Sean Walker and Nick Seeler, how will this affect them and their plans?
Scenario One: Flyers Get a Hefty Haul
You can never have too many blueliners. Quality ones are hard to find. Finding ones that are cheap and available is even harder. Teams looking to go deep in the playoffs want to stockpile them up. Because there are not many of them, the Flyers could require a high price.
For the last few months, it has been rumored that Briere has set the asking price for their defenders at least a first-round pick. Other picks or possibly NHL-ready prospects may be needed to sweeten the deal. There are only so many quality defenders to go around. After all, it is a seller's market and you often need to pay up if you want to get your name on Lord Stanley's Cup.
Scenario Two: The Market Screws the Flyers Over
Tanev's deal might have set the market price for blueliners. Dallas sent defensive prospect Artyom Grushnikov, a second-round pick in 2024, and a conditional third-round pick in 2026. Tanev's salary will be paid by Dallas, Calgary, and New Jersey, who were also part of the deal. The Stars will only pay a little over $1 million in salary. Like Seeler and Walker, Tanev will be a free agent at the end of the season. Grushnikov sealed the deal for the Flames by giving up their 34-year-old defender.
Heck, if that's all it took to get Tanev, Philly easily could've paid that price if they wanted to. Since the team is trying to get younger, it wouldn't have made any sense. But that's not the point. The point is that is light for a player like Tanev.
The Coyotes, who are rebuilding, are looking to trade away Matt Dumba. They were asking for a first-rounder but may lower their price to move him. The Flames may not be done yet and could trade away Noah Hanafin. Montreal may be shopping David Savard. If other GMs get antsy and take the best offer they can, the Flyers could be left out in the cold. The buyers could dry up, go for cheaper options, or shy away from Briere's asking price. In that case, the Flyers could be stuck holding onto Seeler, Walker, and Marc Staal.
With the trade deadline just days away, we'll have to pay attention to moves other teams are making. That could help give clarity as to what the Flyers may or may not do. For now, all we can do is wait and watch.