This post was originally published on this site.
The Philadelphia Flyers might be a dark horse candidate to be fairly active around the trade market in the middle of this season as they try to keep a competitive roster on the ice while also keeping one foot committed to focusing on developing the young talent they have. Basically, they’re going to keep on trying to figure out what the team they hope will regularly compete for the playoffs, will look like.
And some of that could include trying to pry some experienced players off the rotting corpse of the Vancouver Canucks as they toil at the bottom of the NHL.
One of the latest reports in the trade rumor mill is that the Flyers could be a team to look out for to go out and acquire some of the Canucks’ veteran players as they begin their fire sale. It was reported even earlier by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that basically everyone not named Quinn Hughes is available in a trade (for now) and Vancouver is expected to start to trade away their older players imminently.
Of course, with the connection via head coach Rick Tocchet knowing what makes every player on that roster tick and if they could be a fit on his current team in Philadelphia, the Flyers could be a team to look out for.
So, who on the current Canucks roster is a fit for the Flyers? There were no specific names reported but who fits the mold of a veteran player that wouldn’t completely ruin the rebuild in Philadelphia and could still potentially be a long-term fit? Let’s look at some names.
We’re not saying that the Flyers should be trading for any of these players, but just who we could see them at least be interested in if they want a Vancouver veteran.
Conor Garland, RW
Garland is an interesting case, so it makes sense to start off with that one. His six-year contract hasn’t even kicked in yet and at 29 years old, it’s not like he’ll be good for every single one of those years — so almost immediately it raises some red flags.
But, the smaller winger has been easily the Canucks’ best forward for this entire season. Add his current form to the fact that he really came into his own under Tocchet and averaged a career-high 18:39 TOI just last season. With his position on the ice and his age and contract, there almost certainly would need to be a winger going the other way in whatever deal we’re all hypothetically thinking about.
It might not be the best choice to pursue Garland — since the Flyers are probably hoping that someone like Bobby Brink can basically turn into someone like that for the next decade — but we do know that Tocchet sure loves him and he would still probably make this team better.
Marcus Pettersson, LD
It’s no secret that the Flyers are looking to add to their blue line and make it a long-term solution. They have the bones of something looking like a solid group on the back end with Travis Sanheim and both Cam York and Jamie Drysdale improving this season, but someone that can balance out that group and make a top four that might not contend with a blue line featuring Cale Makar, is Marcus Pettersson.
Pettersson could be someone the Flyers target just because he has the size at 6-foot-5 (although he doesn’t hit, so don’t think that would be coming) to really bring that element that’s missing, and he can be yet another very solid puckmover and contributor on both ends of the ice. Basically, imagine if the Flyers got to potentially duplicate the York-Sanheim pairing they have and make it just slightly worse, with a Pettersson-Drysdale combination.
That might be a little bit of fantasy booking, but we know for a fact that the Flyers are looking for a long-term partner for Drysdale and while it might not be a Younger Faster Bigger Nick Seeler that we’re all potentially dreaming of, Pettersson could be an interesting target.
He does have a no-move clause and while he does have experience under Tocchet, the 31 games he was in Vancouver for after being a mid-year acquisition last season might not be enough to be gladly waiving that to come to Philadelphia. The 29-year-old defender is under contract for five more years at a very team-friendly $5.5-million AAV.
Filip Hronek, RD
Filip Hronek was named alongside Quinn Hughes as a defender that the Canucks are probably not open to moving at this moment, but if they continue to really stink and their future is their first true rebuild ever, could we see that change? Hronek being out there could really be quite a get for some good team wanting more of an offensive dynamic to their blue line. But does it work for the Flyers?
Hronek is still a 6-foot, right-handed defenseman and while the talent is clearly there and any pretty good player of his caliber is welcome in Philadelphia, wouldn’t they basically just be getting another Drysdale? Or, at the very least trading a bunch of stuff for someone to play less that he is right now and behind some other similar defensemen?
Maybe, if we’re dreaming up scenarios, the Flyers are open to moving Drysdale to go and address another need (like a center) and then adding Hronek for whatever prospect(s) Vancouver wants, immediately replaces him with a 28-year-old that is the actualized version of what he could become.
It’s a little bit tougher to see, but there is a little bit of a world where the Flyers could be interested.
Filip Chytil, C
This might just be sad. It’s not even known if Filip Chytil is able to play hockey again, let alone be traded and relied upon to potentially be a solid and contributing center in the NHL.
But, if there is a sign of good health in the near future and the 26-year-old Czech is back on the ice and actually playing for the Canucks, it would be something the Flyers would no doubt be interested in. In a Zegras-esque reclamation trade, the Flyers would be bringing in a player that if healthy is a very solid middle-six center at the very least.
Chytil does not lack size at 6-foot-2, has two-way acumen on his best days and just so happened to average his highest time-on-ice while playing under Tocchet after being part of the JT Miller trade from the New York Rangers last season. Could he be an answer to the Flyers’ absence of a top-six center for the future? Maybe, maybe not. There are similar issues as with Zegras like not being stellar at faceoffs (has a 43.4 faceoff win percentage in the last five seasons) and not some physical powerhouse, but it would still be adding talent for most likely not a while lot.
Kiefer Sherwood, RW
Yeah, Kiefer Sherwood would probably be a dream acquisition for the Flyers, to be honest. A player that hits better than anyone else in the entire league, scores goals, and is responsible in all three zones? That’s someone teams go nuts for and specifically the one based in Philadelphia.
So, obviously we could see them be interested and maybe dip their toe in the waters to bid for his services — but they would surely be outbid by some actual Stanley Cup contender considering he’s a pending unrestricted free agent and is on a deal that carries just a $1.5-million AAV. Sherwood is basically a player that would instantly walk into any good team’s middle six and not look out of place, and provide exactly what is needed from that role.
Unless the Flyers suddenly feel like throwing away their entire plan and giving up a future first-round pick for a rental like Sherwood (and then signing him to his next deal, too) we can’t see this actually happening but they would surely be interested at the very least. Maybe, they will just be scouting Sherwood every single day to try and find a younger version of him somewhere else.
The initial report that the Flyers could be a team to look out for to get any of these veterans is immediately incredibly interesting, but in the end it’s tough to see a true matchup that makes sense when it comes to corresponding with the team’s competition timeline and what it would cost to get any of these players.