Flyers Deadline Deal Already Paying Off

General manager Ron Hextall signed forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and goaltender Michal Neuvirth to two-year extensions.

Other than that, he only made one trade. The trade, however, may prove to be a work of the Hextall magic once again. Upon the trade deadline, the Flyers traded veteran defenseman and alternate captain Mark Streit to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a fourth round draft pick, a seventh round pick, and forward Valtteri Filppula. Before the trade, the Flyers were tied with the most draft picks in the 2017 entry draft with nine. Now, they lead the league with eleven.

Mark Streit is on the final year of his contract and a pending unrestricted free agent. Following that trade, Streit was flipped to the rival Pittsburgh Penguins, who give him the best shot at winning a Stanley Cup before his impending retirement.

Filppula, who has been playing center on the Flyers second line, waived his no-movement clause to come to Philadelphia, and reportedly did not waive it for a trade to Toronto. He has already paid dividends to a Flyers team that desperately needed a scoring boost: in his first game, he scored a gritty goal from in front of the net. During Saturday’s game against the Capitals, Filppula played on the second power play unit, and it appears that he has found his new home there.

Since the deadline, Filppula and the Flyers have gained three out of a possible four points. They have gotten off to a good start since the deadline concluded. Though fans would have liked to see more moves made, Hextall did a good job being conservative and not giving too much away. That can be saved for the off-season, when the Flyers are expected to go all-in on a high-class player.

In the meantime, however, Hextall’s low-risk, high-reward move gives the Flyers a chance to sneak into the playoffs. Filppula’s veteran scoring might be just what the team needs to make it back to the postseason, and take revenge on the rival Capitals in a first round rematch. If not, the Flyers parted ways with an expiring contract: no harm, no foul.