After a day of being quiet, the NHL has exploded on draft day. How does this affect the Flyers? Before looking at the draft, let's take a look at some major moves that took place ahead of the draft.
Sam Bennett signed a monster deal to stay in Florida. It would've been nice to see him in Philly. The Isles traded Noah Dobson to Montreal for two first-round picks this year (back-to-back ones, too). The Blue Jackets have been busy making a lot of moves, including trading Daniil Tarasov to Florida. For Flyers fans who've been dreaming of seeing John Tavares in Philadelphia, you can see him when the Maple Leafs come to town. Jamie Benn is sticking with the Stars, and the Mammoth traded for J.J. Peterka.
What does this mean for the Flyers?
This means quite a bit. First of all, Columbus is trying to get back to the playoffs. They're clearing cap space and getting ready for a major free agency splurge. Is Mitch Marner on their minds? They could be a force to reckon with. Likewise, Toronto and Florida are holding onto players who have made them strong. Montreal, having made the playoffs, is hoping that Dobson can bolster their young squad.
The wildcard here, early on, is the Islanders. What are they up to? They had three first-round picks, all in the top 17, including the first overall pick. This gave them some room to play around with. There was some speculation that the Isles may trade the top pick or even move up for Hagens.
New York kept the first overall pick, drafting Matthew Schaefer. There was some speculation that they let the first few picks go, offer some sort of deal that packages the 16th and 17th picks to move up and draft Hagens. He is a hometown kid. It would be hard for the Isles to pass up a kid like that.
Instead a few teams did just that, including the Flyers. They selected Porter Martone, a right-winger, instead. Boston ended up selecting Hagens with the seventh pick.
Instead the Islanders kept both mid-first-round picks. They chose Victor Eklund, who many thought could be a top seven pick with pick #16, and then chose Kashawn Aitcheson with the next pick. While the Isles could take a step back this season, having young talent like this could make them very powerful.
Some feel that Aitcheson could be NHL-ready. Having him and Schaefer together could produce a defensive duo that could haunt the Metro Division for years to come. Likewise, Eklund was widely seen as the second-best European forward in this draft. He could make the jump to the NHL shortly. In short, the Islanders look like they are finally getting their act together and could be a legit problem.
With the Rangers and Penguins in a mess and the Hurricanes doing what they do every offseason, the Flyers now have two major potential threats in the Metro Division. The Jackets are making a push to get better, and the Islanders are making some savvy moves to do the same. This puts more pressure on the Flyers to get this draft right. Having more intradivisional competition will make it harder to compete.
As for everyone else, gotta keep an eye on them. Their moves could threaten the Flyers' chances of getting back to the playoffs. Let's see what shakes down as the offseason continues.