Transactions are the lifeblood of being a sports fan. Sure, we love watching the games and thinking about cool players and other stuff, but conjuring up some moves that your favorite team can make at the trade deadline, or what potential free agent they can sign, or how some young prospect they just drafted is going to change the team, is just so rooted into our being.
The Philadelphia Flyers are probably going to make some trades throughout this upcoming season. They could be a collection of minor ones, like what we just saw last season with a whole lot of AHL-level deals and a little Bobby Brink-David Jiricek swap around the deadline thrown in there, or it could be something monumental.
It all depends on just how well this season is going for them and whether they’re able to reel in this big fish to launch them into Stanley Cup contention, or they’re just trimming around the edges to do more business next summer as they are just on the playoff bubble.
Who are some names who could be on the move in either circumstance? Which current Flyers, who will be happy and giddy to start training camp in a couple weeks, will have to say goodbye to their teammates before Game 84?
Rasmus Ristolainen
The most obvious candidate is defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. His name has been on the trade block for roughly the last 75 months and since the 31-year-old is entering the final year of his contract, he could very well be on the move no matter what.
Okay, maybe not no matter what but if the Flyers aren’t firmly in the playoffs and considered actually one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference or even the Metropolitan Division, then Ristolainen could be traded. There is a world where the Flyers are still deep in the wild card race and every game is meaningful, but other players have leapt over Ristolainen and he’s in more of a depth role on the blue line. That would make him moveable.
Or, Briere gets an offer that is hard to refuse (finally, a first-round pick?) at the trade deadline and he’ll then use that and maybe some other assets to quickly get a longer-term Ristolainen replacement, who brings the same level of physicality and size but also any semblance of offense whatsoever.
It’s not hard to think of a Ristolainen trade finally happening within the next handful of months. If not, then the Flyers will certainly view him as an “own rental” as they push further for the playoffs and opt to not get accept that trade package of a second-round pick and a mid-level prospect for the big man.
Noah Cates
Noah Cates is one of the most useful players on this entire team. A player who has worked his butt off to get to where he is, and is one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL. But it just feels like there is some writing on the wall that he will be one of the roster players leaving the Flyers if a bigger deal were to happen.
He is a great asset, if the other team knows their stuff. A 27-year-old player capable of playing center, locked up for three more years at just a $4-million AAV, who can handle as many defensive assignments as possible — that’s just someone who would be a third-line center on every single Stanley Cup-winning team. So, if a team is for some reason trading away their first-line center or No. 1 defenseman and is looking to stay competitive in the short-term, Cates could be a target.
We won’t come up with any fantasy trade for a specific player that involves Cates going the other way, but considering the absence of trade protection, anything feels possible when it comes to the in-prime center.
It would have to only be for a massive deal, because, as we pointed out, he is just so good.
Cam York
In a similar vein to Cates, Cam York is a candidate here. While he’s arguably not as important to the team as Cates is, he still is a good, young player who the team believes in and is locked up for four more years at a reasonable number (and with no trade protection).
If there is a bigger deal to be had in the middle of next season, York could easily be included. If Zach Werenski (now we’re naming names) suddenly realizes that he’s been spending his entire career in the state of Ohio and wants to get the hell out of there, and fondly looks over at Philadelphia for some reason, then there could be something done. York wouldn’t be the only piece over there, but Columbus wouldn’t want another trade of just futures, so he could be the one of the roster pieces headed over to the Blue Jackets. Just as an example.
We can’t see the Flyers moving York for anything really, especially considering the lack of top-end left-handed defenseman prospects the team has who are ready to make the jump. Oliver Bonk could feasibly replace Ristolainen in some fashion as soon as next year, but who is taking York’s minutes if there isn’t a replacement coming back? Hunter McDonald? Ty Murchison? Not ideal. And it’s not like you want one of Simon Benoit or Nick Seeler playing in the top four, either.
It would have to be in a big trade, but since we’re just talking about candidates who could be on the move in the middle of next season, York is certainly one.
Nick Seeler
For lesser impactful moves, Nick Seeler could very well be living somewhere else before the end of next season. He’s someone who had his name out there in trade rumors recently and considering that he’s a 33-year-old physical defenseman who loves to block a shot as a team-first guy, a contender could be all over him at the deadline.
Seeler has two years remaining on his contract paying him $2.7 million per year. Basically nothing in today’s NHL and he would really solidify a bottom pairing just about anywhere.
It would be a simple move, maybe for just straight futures as the likes of McDonald or Murchison are ready to make the jump, or the Flyers got another top-four left-handed defenseman and move York or someone else down the lineup. It just feels extremely possible that Seeler could be moved, and maybe very soon.
David Jiricek
This is a not-so-good prediction. Only Matvei Michkov will have more of a spotlight on him than David Jiricek at Flyers training camp. While he scored a whole lot of points down with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, there were moments where he certainly got exposed defensively and just did not have good anticipation during breakouts. There are clear holes in his game that he will need to fix if he wants to truly make an impact in the NHL and we will be glued to him to see if any of that happened over the summer.
But, due to him not being exempt from waivers anymore, he will be on the Flyers roster to start the season no matter what, and they will try to make it work. But what if it doesn’t? What if he can’t get over those issues that has caused him to be on his third NHL team before he turned 22 years old?
The Flyers might have their hand forced and instead of just rotting in the press box since Simon Benoit of all defensemen is looking so much better than you, they might take the risk and send Jiricek down to the AHL through waivers. And, a team might just think that their secret sauce is better than everyone else’s and wants to give it a shot with the sixth-overall pick. Therefore ending the Jiricek tenure in Philadelphia.
It’s an unfortunate scenario but one that could very well happen if Rick Tocchet really thinks the 22-year-old blueliner’s play in the offensive zone doesn’t outweigh all the bad in the defensive zone.
