As the 2022-23 NHL season reaches the quarter point, teams are starting to sort themselves out and the cream has risen to the top. It means fans of teams that are on a downward trend are starting to face the reality that it’s another lost season and the planning for the offense can commence. We have once again scrolled through CapFriendly’s Armchair GM tool to find the most intriguing trades surrounding the Philadelphia Flyers.
You’re the GM of the Flyers and the proposals below come across your desk, do you make the trade?
Interesting option by Lights
We at Brotherly Puck have discussed the idea of the Flyers pursuing Meier during the offseason, but here is a black and white scenario. Meier, who is only 26 years old, is coming off a 35-goal, 76-point season and already has 17 points in 20 games during the 2022-23 season. He’s a pending restricted free agent coming off a four-year, $24 million deal.
Cam York is probably the Flyers’ best trade chip at the moment as their top prospect who can’t find himself an NHL role, and Tippett is having a decent season, but Meier is a more than decent upgrade. The Flyers would give up one of their two first round picks in 2024 and a third rounder in 2023, both acquired in the Giroux trade.
Would you make this trade?
.
horvat by bakasbookos
It’s no secret the Flyers desperately need center depth and the Canucks are a hot mess and could be looking to sell sooner rather than later. Horvat, who turns 28 in April, is a pending unrestricted free agent who could look to cash in this summer. He currently has 14 goals and 20 points in 18 games.
The Flyers need all they help they can get when it comes to NHL-caliber center depth, but they’re paying a premium to do so with their top defense prospect in Cam York as well as their first round pick in 2023, which could very well end up being in the top ten. They could wait until free agency to try and pursue Horvat, but do they stand a chance if he hits the open market?
Would you make this trade?
.
Whiladelphia by PHILLYSZN
Here’s a fascinating trade that boils down to two franchises swapping their top prospects.
Shane Wright, the fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft is 18 years old. He’s played just seven of the Kraken’s games this season, finding himself in the press box most nights under head coach Dave Hakstol.
Tyson Foerster was the 23rd overall pick in 2020 and is 20 years old. He has yet to make his NHL debut, instead, marinating with the Phantoms after missing most of last season with a shoulder injury.
Frost is basically a non-factor in a trade these days, but could be an interesting option for a team like Seattle who can take a waiver on a floundering young player for a rehab project.
Do the Flyers risk losing a prospect like Foerster who could eventually be a top goalscorer? Do they risk passing on a potential top center prospect the franchise so desperately needs?
Would you make this trade?
.
Next year by DH28Hockey
This scenario may not be as flashy or based around high-end talent like the others on this list, but it’s a deal that could very well happen in real life this summer. If the Flyers want to have enough cap space to make any impacts in 2023 free agency, they will first have to shed a bit of salary, and 31-year-old Kevin Hayes would be a prime player to move. In this scenario, the Flyers would retain $3 million of his $7.1 million cap hit for the remaining three years on his contract.
For the retained salary, the Flyers would recieve another first round pick in 2024, which they already own their own as well as Florida’s, and a third round pick in the coveted 2023 draft.
Flyers ditch a little more than half of the remaining money on Hayes’ contract, freeing up $4.1 million in cap during the summer, and add two draft picks for doing so.
Would you make this trade?
.
Rebuild by JoeThornton
Travis Konecny is undergoing a career renaissance this season and it’s very possible the Flyers could look to sell high on the 25-year-old winger; the question is- is this return high enough? Puljujarvi, 24, was a former fourth overall pick in 2016. He’s a pending restricted-free agent and only has three points in 18 games with the Oilers and 101 points in 207 career games.
Puljujarvi’s stock has dropped tremendously this season and may no longer be a project worth taking on, but an additional first and third round pick in 2023 may make up the difference. Though if the Flyers actually part ways with Konecny, do they look for a bigger return given his point-producing season?
Would you make this trade?
.
2 years away by DH28Hockey
Weclome to this issue’s installment of “how much do the fans hate Ristolainen?”
Sergei Bobrovsky, who just turned 34, has three years left on his current contract at a whopping $10 million cap hit.
Ristolainen, 28, has four years left at a $5.1 million cap hit.
The Flyers would also get Florida’s second rounder in 2023 and their 2024 fifth, originally sent to Florida in the Giroux trade, returned to them in this scenario.
Philly reunites with an aging, very expensive goaltender, but hey, they ditch Ristolainen.
Would you make this trade?
.
Moving Forward 2023-24 by Hammerwise
In the endless pursuit of top end talent, the Flyers will have to consider all options, and Nylander’s name has been floating around the trade block for seemingly years now. Nylander, who turns 27 in the spring, posted a career best 34-goal, 80-point season last year, and is on a point-per-game pace once again this season.
The Leafs get decent value for Nylander in a first round pick and a young player in Tippett, who seems to be on the rise, and they shed quite a bit of cap and the Flyers get a much needed established talented winger.
Would you make this trade?
.
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By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 