Which Flyers Could Be Potential Trade Pieces That Aren’t Named Wayne Simmonds?
With just a few days remaining until Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline, teams have already started making moves to set up for the season’s final stretch – including the Flyers. With their trade for Cam Talbot which sent Anthony Stolarz to Edmonton and Dale Weise to Montreal, Chuck Fletcher has shown the Flyers are open for business.
The trade rumors around the Flyers have been swirling for quite a while and Wayne Simmonds has been at the heart of most of them as the most likely Flyer to be moved before Monday.
While Simmonds is the most obvious candidate, let’s look at the rest of the roster and see which Flyers could be moved at the deadline…
Michael Raffl
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An impending unrestricted free agent, Michael Raffl has been a constant fixture in the Flyers lineup for the past six seasons. Raffl doesn’t offer much in terms of offense anymore as he’s posted just 12 points in 46 points but his experience on the penalty kill could make him a possible target for a team looking for a bottom-line winger.
Brian Elliott
Image: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Finally healthy for the first time since November, Brian Elliott could have earned himself some potential suitors after a solid performance in relief of Carter Hart against Tampa Bay. It’s obvious the Flyers are no longer in need of his services as Hart has become the Flyers number one goaltender and the team just acquired Cam Talbot, so Elliott make a ton of sense to be moved by Monday.
For the Flyers, getting a late round pick would surely be enough for Chuck Fletcher to pull the trigger on a trade for an aging goaltender in the last year of his contract.
Radko Gudas
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For as much slack as Gudas has gotten over the past few seasons, the 28-year-old defenseman has been arguably the Flyers’ best defenseman this season with the struggles of Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere.
The Flyers would have to be fully committed to selling at the deadline for a trade of Gudas to make any sense but if that is the direction Chuck Fletcher wants to go, Gudas could net the Flyers a strong return. Gudas is on the third year of a four-year deal so he wouldn’t just be a rental player and his contract is fairly cheap deal for a player of his decent top-four defender.
Shayne Gostisbehere
This one is most interesting. Coming into this season, Gostisbehere was a lock to be a fixture on the Flyers blueline for years to come but has struggled mightily this season and has seen his minutes cut by Scott Gordon over the past few weeks.
Gostisbehere, 25, is in the second year of a six-year deal that would keep him under contract through the 2022-23 season and it would be quite the surprise to see him be moved so soon but if the Flyers are absolutely blown away by a deal, there’s a small chance this could happen.
This one is extremely unlikely and the Flyers would have to either be blowing up the team or trading for a star for Fletcher to even consider adding Ghost into a trade package.
The Flyers should be active at the deadline but let’s hope Chuck Fletcher doesn’t get too carried away.
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