The Philadelphia Flyers were supposed to enter the 2023-24 season as a rebuilding squad expecting a bottom ten finish in the league. Well, at the Christmas break, they currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division in the thick of a playoff race. Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets had high hopes for the season and have once again bottomed out and have signaled that everyone is available for sale. With the role reversals, it means the Flyers could be buyers and looking to add a player or two from the Blue Jackets, so which players from the Columbus squad could pique the interest of Danny Briere at the trade deadline in March?
Number 5: Erik Gudbranson
Gudbranson is a 32-year-old right-handed defenseman known for his physical play and defensive-defenseman style. It sure seems like a player on the Tortorella radar if he had his druthers. He’s got two years left on his contract at a $4 million cap hit, more or less the going rate for a player of his stature. Is he what the Flyers need right now? Nope. Has that stopped them from making questionable moves in the past? Nope. Is Tortorella going to convince Briere to get him more of his favorites? Yep.
Number 4: Johnny Gaudreau
With Danny Briere now in charge of the Flyers and the new regime unafraid to pander, one has to wonder if the door is back open to bring the hometown kid Johnny Gaudreau back to Philly after Chuck Fletcher whiffed last summer? The problem is, John Tortorella has buried Gaudreau by name multiple times over the last year and is allergic to adding offensive talent to teams he coaches. So it’s highly unlikely a homecoming takes place any time soon. Not to mention he still has five more years on his deal at a whopping $9.7 million cap hit.
Number 3: Boone Jenner
30-year-old Boone Jenner currently serves as the captain of the Blue Jackets. He’s no stranger to John Tortorella, he was on the roster for all six seasons Torts spent in Columbus. Familiarity and leadership are two things that carry some weight with this coach, so a reunion based on their past connections wouldn’t be surprising, even if Jenner doesn’t bring more than 45 points to the table per season. He’s got two years left on his deal at a $3.75 million cap hit.
Number 2: Patrik Laine
Patrik Laine, the former second overall pick in 2016 is already 25 years old. Even though he’s failed to hit the early career peaks he managed with the Winnpeg Jets, he has still managed 108 points in 111 games from 2021 to 2023. Now, the focus is on his health, as he hasn’t played a full 82-game season since 2018-19 and is already on IR this season with a broken collarbone. According to CapFriendly, Laine has a M-NTC in the form of a 10 team no-trade list, so he could veto a deal if a reunion with Torts isn’t what he wants. The Flyers still need some serious help up front, so they should consider circling back on Laine and his $8.7 million cap hit until 2026, but it’s up to Laine to decide if it’s in the cards or not.
Number 1: Zach Werenski
Sitting atop the Flyers’ wishlist when it comes to addressing roster holes is an offensive defenseman that can QB a powerplay. The 26-year-old left-handed defenseman has 268 points in 446 games with 84 of them coming on the man advantage. The downside is he’s making nearly $9.6 million for four more seasons. But at this point the Flyers don’t have an overwhelming amount of options to fix the defense, so just having to somehow eat the nearly $10 million price tag may be the only way to add the proper missing pieces. If he comes in and get the powerplay back on track, he’d be worth every penny.
Honorable mention
Adam Boqvist
Boqvist is a 23-year-old right-handed defenseman that has appeared on the trade rumor mill a couple times over the last few months. He’s got one year left on his contract at a $2.3 million cap hit as still qualifies as a restricted free agent at the end of his deal.
He played just 46 games last season and just 13 in 2023-24 as he currently sits on IR. If the Flyers are in the market for a rehab project at a position of weakness for the team, Boqvist is an interesting option, if they want more of a sure thing for the future, it’s best they steer clear of this one.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: tsn.ca
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