The Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators are making a trade! Er… at least those are the rumors anyway. As the draft is just a week away, Flyers fans finally got a little breadcrumb as to what’s brewing behind the scenes. The wild thing about this particular rumor is that is was essentially “Hey, the Flyers and Senators are potentially cooking something up” and that was about it. It’s like pulling a pin on a grenade and haphazardly tossing it into a bee’s nets.
Considering there are no particular names, theories or strategies directly associated with a potential Flyers-Senators trade, let’s take a look what exactly do the Sens have to offer the Flyers via trade.
Shane Pinto
Before he missed half the 2023-24 season with a suspension for sports gambling, 23-year-old center Shane Pinto was tied to the Flyers as he was holding out in need of a new contract coming off his entry-level deal. While the Flyers shopping for a young center should be a no-brainer considering how desperate their need is for one, the idea being that Pinto is essentially a slightly younger Morgan Frost- as to say, an offensive forward that flashes potential but isn’t exactly tearing the league up, never really made sense.
Now, Pinto is an RFA once again and if he and the Senators’ front office can’t peacefully agree to a new contract this time around it may signal the end of his time in Ottawa. Could the Flyers have interest? Sure. Will Pinto succeed any better under John Tortorella than Morgan Frost is? That seems improbable.
Claude Giroux
The obvious player on the Ottawa roster that could be on Philly’s radar is franchise icon Claude Giroux. The now-36-year-old has one year left on his current contract (that has a full no-movement clause) and if he doesn’t think his hometown Senators have a real shot at a Cup this year, he will probably be on the move at some point in search of one.
We’ve talked in the past about all the possible positives and negatives attached to a potential Giroux reunion, and it’s pretty unlikely the two sides rejoin forces this summer, but it’s hard to put the Flyers and Senators together and not at least consider the possibility of a reconciliation.
Jakob Chychrun
Chychrun is definitely a fascinating name and one the Flyers should have interest in, but man, the cons are strong on this one. The injury history alone is worrisome, especially for a team like the Flyers that seems to personify the “everything that can go wrong will” when it comes to players missing time. If Chychrun is the partner for Jamie Drysdale, they can be a tandem both on the ice and on IR.
But if they feel as though he’s past the flurry of injuries that were plaguing him, a minute munching lefty with some powerplay success should at least pique some interest considering the uncertainty of high-end immediate defensive help and their blue line production being far too minimal.
Though there is an abundance of LHD on the roster (Sanheim, York, Seeler, Zamula with Andrae and Ginning in the AHL) but Tortorella has been unafraid to play them on their off-side to mixed success. Chychrun has experience playing on the right side from his days in Arizona, so he could fit that mold well if either Sanheim or York falter on their unnatural side.
And you really think the Flyers’ front office would make an addition if there wasn’t some kind of pandering angle they could attach to? His father Jeff Chychrun was drafted by the Flyers in 1984 and played 199 games for the team racking up a whopping 606 penalty minutes. He’s also the nephew of former Flyer Luke Richardson. “He’s a second generation Flyer whose father was a prime example of a Broad Street Bully” will be a hell of a headline to make the boomers comfortable with forward progress.
Mathieu Jospeh
The Flyers love their depth meatheads, especially when they’re getting paid a ton of money. Step right up Mathieu Jospeh, who is also a name the that circled the Flyers last fall along with Pinto. The 27-year-old did manage a career-best in 2023-24 of a whopping 35 points and still has two years left on his contract at a $2.95 million cap hit.
Jospeh may not be the worst player in the world, but with Garnet Hathaway and Nic Deslauriers already under contract, yet another depth winger is pretty much the last thing the Flyers need.
Thomas Chabot
27-year-old left-handed defenseman was easily the biggest and most interesting name to emerge in trade theories from the Senators’ side. He has been a staple for their blue line for years and still has four years left on his current contract at an $8 million cap hit. With the emergence of Jake Sanderson, who has been serving as their top LHD and signed a eight-year, $8 million aav extension that kicks in this season, could the Sens look to reallocate some cap space elsewhere?
The Flyers are absolutely in the market for a bonafide top defenseman, but Chabot being a lefty makes things a bit more complicated. They’ve already got Travis Sanheim under contract forever and Cam York is entering the last year of his bridge deal and is in line for a gargantuan extension of his own. So while the Flyers shouldn’t be quick to dismiss a Chabot trade, it’s not the highest priority at the moment, unless the can find a way to ditch Sanheim and his no-trade clause.
7th Overall Pick
The seventh overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft seems to be spearheading any trade rumors, and possibly all that Ottawa gives up on their end. The “rebuilding” Flyers currently sit at 12th overall, which is a lot harder to sell to the masses or draft a quality player that a seventh overall pick would be.
Can the Flyers find a way to snag the 7th overall pick without giving up 12? The answer is probably not (if Ottawa is smart) unless the Flyers part ways with Travis Konecny (which they should absolutely consider). If they attempt to just move up from 12 to 7, maybe the Flyers could get away throwing in a lesser main roster piece like Scott Laughton or Morgan Frost to make it happen.
The latest incarnation of the trade rumors seem to be that any deal between the Flyers and Senators probably won’t go down until draft day. That likely means that the Flyers have “their guy” they want in the early first round, and due to the absurdity of how the chips are expected to fall, they don’t want to pay a premium to move up if they ultimately don’t have to.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: Getty Images
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