Should the Flyers Be Sellers at the Deadline?
The Flyers’ defensive problems have continuously bitten them throughout this season, and they’ve gotten bad enough where one big defenseman trade wouldn’t be enough.
The lack of veteran defensive leadership and identity will sink the Flyers season, but with less than 30 games, it would not be worth mortgaging the future in the trade market just for this season.
Photo: NHL
If the Flyers aren’t going to compete this season, they need to be sellers to free up cap space to fix defensive needs and hopefully reload for the 2021-22 season.
The team needs to keep their younger core of players plus Giroux, Couturier, and Hayes, but everyone else should be looked at getting dealt.
The following is a list of guys who I believe can net the Flyers positive value and don’t fit into the Flyers plans long-term.
James van Riemsdyk
JVR is currently 23rd in points in the NHL at the time of writing and leads the Flyers in both points and goals (tied with Joel Farabee with 13 G). He’s arguably been the Flyers’ best offensive player this season, but he’s 31, on the books for $7 million AAV for two more seasons, and doesn’t add much defensively. The point of having JVR on your team is to score goals, and he’s luckily been doing that a lot this season. But his off-year last season was an example of what happens when his goal numbers decline.
You’d be trading with JVR at the peak of his value, and the organization may never again get this golden opportunity to trade him for valuable assets. At his current point per game pace, his contract is moderately priced, so the Flyers may be able to get a fair haul in the range of a couple of mid-high round picks/prospects or veterans. He is arguably the best deflector in the league and thrives in loose puck around the net situations, which is invaluable in the playoffs.
Shayne Gostisbehere
Just like with the Eagles and Carson Wentz, there comes a moment where you need to admit that this relationship isn’t working anymore and move on. Shayne Gostisbehere is a highly talented defenseman, but he’s not a fit for the current Flyers team, and it’s time for him to get a shot somewhere else. For almost two years, there seems to be a constant trade rumor with Ghost, and it looks like now is a good time for it to come true with the expansion draft down the road.
Ghost is under contract till 2022-23 for $4.5 AAV, which isn’t a bad contract considering his upside. A good return for Ghost would be a defenseman prospect and a 3rd round pick, but a basket of later-round picks may be more reasonable due to a decline in value.
Michael Raffl
For a good part of this season, until almost the whole team decided to give up, the Flyers 4th line was one of the best in the league. Part of their success was thanks to Michael Raffl, who has been an excellent winger for almost his entire career. The production for Raffl has slowed down a bit this season, but part of that can be attributed to him being sidelined due to a hand injury.
If the Flyers are looking to trade Raffl, he won’t fetch a massive return by any means, especially since he is a UFA at the end of the season. A trade for Raffl would most likely resemble something like the Jordan Weal trade where the Flyers got a 6th round pick.
Brian Elliot
Despite the defense, Elliot played well for 3/4th of this season and arguably has played better than Hart for most of this season. Elliot is a UFA at the end of the season and is unlikely to sign on for another year.
You only deal, Elliot, if you’re giving up on Cup contending this season and may be able to get a 5th pick or a low-level prospect if you’re lucky. But a draft pick is a valuable asset, which would give the Flyers a push to see what they have in Felix Sandstorm.
Featured Image: NHL
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