The 2023 offseason was filled with questionable non-moves, and none were bigger than the organization failing to deal away 27-year-old Travis Sanheim before his new eight-year contract and subsequent no-trade clause kicked in. Unlike Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton, who were retained despite their personal values being at an all-time high, Sanheim was kept because his value was low. Now that his value is at a personal peak, do the Flyers once again consider moving him, or has their tune changed because they’re getting the best version of Sanheim?
Keep
It may have taken a decade, but Travis Sanheim is finally playing at a level that was expected of him when he was drafted 17th overall in 2014. He has 25 points through the team’s first 36 games, which is easily on pace to shatter his previous career high of 35 points set back in 2018-19. His average TOI is still hovering around 25 minutes a night, while also eating the most shorthanded minutes on the team as well.
If this version of Sanheim is here to stay, he could be a worthwhile building block for the defense. He’s still not the ideal guy to build an entire corps around, but he could be a valuable number two or three if the top roles were filled with some kind of legitimacy.
Trade
Obviously, the elephant in the room is his full no-trade clause Chuck Fletcher gifted Sanheim, undoubtedly one last middle finger by the previous GM on the way out. According to CapFriendly, he’s got a full NTC the first four seasons (until the 2027 offseason) and a 12-team no-trade list for the last four years of his deal (2031). So the decision is ultimately up to Sanheim as to whether he stays or goes.
So will the Flyers open the can of worms and ask him to waive? It all basically boils down to whether or not they believe this version of Sanheim is here to stay, and whether or not they’re willing to capitalize on this version if it does indeed become the new norm.
Conclusion
One of the biggest aspects of Sanheim’s career he’s struggled to reproduce is consistency. Even when he had his previous personal best campaign in 2021-22, he failed to return to that level in 2022-23. So the fact that he’s playing the best hockey of his career… seven years into his career (which is a complete outlier from the previous six seasons) doesn’t bode a high amount of confidence that this version of Sanheim is sustainable. It could be, but the odds are not in his favor.
The Flyers apparently tried to ditch Sanheim during the 2023 offseason, but nobody would risk bringing on that contract, so if the name of the game is long-term flexibility for both cap dollars and roster spots, it certainly makes sense they could revisit the trade scene again this summer now that Sanheim’s value is at its peak. There is some recent history with the Flyers and their fluctuant stances on their trade chips. They tend to keep a player who’s on the block when their value is high and trade when their value is low.
Would Sanheim waive his no-trade clause to leave Philly if he was asked? It probably depends on where the Flyers would be sending him. Considering the team is still spinning their tires as a bubble team at best, if there’s a bonafide playoff team out there who would want him, maybe he agrees to waive in search of greener pastures.
But if this guy was willing to commit to the Flyers for eight more years after the previous three seasons of hell the team went through, maybe winning isn’t a top priority for the player. Having a role as the team’s number one probably won’t happen on most playoff-caliber teams. And considering that title likely is in no jeopardy on the Flyers for the foreseeable future, maybe he’s totally fine just sitting back, eating all the minutes he’s offered and cashing his rather large paychecks.
The rebuilding, not quite rebuilding, but totally rebuilding, even though not really rebuilding Philadelphia Flyers are walking the perfect line between buyers and sellers, and whether or not they try and reengage Sanheim in trade negotiations will help paint the picture as to where the organization’s mind is at with one of their trade top chips. Do they consider all their options heading into the deadline and offseason? Or do they just call the season a win for Sanheim without taking the bigger picture into consideration? It’ll be up to Danny Briere to decide.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: nhl.com
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