When entering an NHL offseason, all the glitz and glamor revolves around big name free agents and which top players in the league end up on new teams. But there’s an under-the-radar side of the offseason, and that’s team looking to capitalize on “rehab projects” a.k.a. players that should be more successful than they are on their current team.
In the case of the Philadelphia Flyers, who are still attempting to walk a fine line between a rebuild and being competitive, finding and acquiring a young player struggling in their current environment in hopes of a career renaissance happening in orange and black should be an option that’s very much on the table heading into the summer of 2024. So which young players around the league spark interest as potential rehab projects?
Shane Wright
The projected first overall pick of the 2022 draft that ended up falling to Seattle fourth overall hasn’t had a smooth transition to the NHL level. The 20-year-old has played just 16 NHL games with eight coming during the 2023-24 campaign. He spent most of the season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL where he posted 47 points in 59 games.
Seattle is currently wrapped in the Dave Hakstol school of prospect development (which is becoming harder to throw stones in a glass house these days with John Tortorella around) and many Seattle-based outlets don’t seem overly concerned yet about his marinating time in the AHL. But the Kraken did miss the playoffs in 2024 after their second round appearance in 2023, so if went searching for main roster help, say, someone like Travis Konecny, dealing Wright may be something they’d consider.
If they really do feel as though there’s nothing to worry about with Wright’s development and they’re just rounding him out before he gets to the NHL, maybe he sticks with the Kraken organization for awhile longer, but he’s easily their biggest trade chip for main roster stability, and the Flyers have more than a few players that could help them out to craft a deal around.
David Jiricek
The sixth overall pick of the 2022 draft was treated like a yo-yo by the Blue Jackets, who sent him back and fourth between the NHL and AHL all season. He played 43 NHL games, had a few bouts of healthy scratches then ended up playing 29 AHL games over multiple stints.
Jiricek, the 20-year-old right-handed defenseman, has been openly frustrated by his handling from the organization, and given the abysmal state of the Blue Jackets, dealing a single top asset for even more assets could be a feasible outcome from Columbus.
The Flyers have been stockpiling draft picks and have a hoard of their own prospects currently on the outside of the NHL picture looking in. More than likely that’d be the kind of return Columbus would be looking for rather than main roster help. It won’t be a pretty deal from the Flyers’ end, but paying up for a sure thing rather than continue to amass unknowns is a fair trade off.
Plus, a one-two punch of David Jiricek and Oliver Bonk on the right side of the defense in a couple years is definitely a fun thought and could justify the undoubtedly high cost of acquiring the Czech defenseman.
Trevor Zegras
Zegras is the most experienced player on this list, and there have been loose links to the Flyers for months now. The 23-year-old just wrapped up his fourth NHL season, but it wasn’t a pretty one. An offseason contract stalemate kept him sidelined until early October, then had two separate long stints on IR that led to him only suiting up for 31 games scoring a measly 15 points.
Before this season, however, he did post two consecutive seasons of 20-goal, 60-point production while being a human highlight reel as one of the most exciting young players in the league.
Rumor has it that the contract negotiations soured the relationship between player and team, as they often do, and a personal season from hell did nothing to dispel the trade fodder rumors. If and/or when a deal happens, the Ducks are unquestionably going to ask for a king’s ransom in return.
Reality is the Flyers desperately need a young, offensively dynamic center and shouldn’t be quick to balk at whatever the price tag on Zegras is, simply because finding another player with similar attributes isn’t going to be easy, especially in a barren free agent class. It may not be a painless trade, but it could work out well in the long term for the Flyers.
Barrett Hayton
Hayton was picked fifth overall in 2018 by the Coyotes and has played parts of five seasons in the NHL since. His career highs came in 2022-23 when he played 82 games scoring 19 goals and 43 points. Though he’s coming off an injury-riddled campaign where he only played 33 games and, on the whole, hasn’t lived up to his lofty draft expectations.
He may be the least sexy name on this list, but a 24-year-old player with experience serving as a 1C on a abysmal team with recent injuries is a prime rehab project target. The feeling is that he would need to be on a line with bonafide stars to truly elevate his game, something the Flyers couldn’t provide him at this point in time, but the roster is better than whatever it is the Coyotes have been throwing out there every night for the last few seasons.
He was a teammate of Morgan Frost with the Soo Greyhounds from 2016-2019, so there’s some familiarity there, and if they were to acquire Hayton, he and Frost could very well be their 1C and 2C next season.
Much like Columbus, it’s hard to imagine Arizona…. er… Utah will be overly interested in main roster pieces as much as they are future assets, and Hayton should *easily* be the cheapest in terms of trade value on this list. He’s a restricted free agent in 2025, so he’s under team control if he pans out, and the can easily move on from him if he doesn’t.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: NHL.com
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