The Flyers pulled the trigger on a trade before Friday’s trade deadline, sending fourth-liner and enforcer Nic Deslauriers to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. Although the club didn’t make the announcement official, various sources confirmed the news beforehand.
There was speculation Deslauriers as well as defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen would be sitting out last night’s game against Utah as a “roster management” decision. Basically, you wouldn’t want to kill chances of landing a return should one of the two (or both) got injured during the game. But Briere rolled the dice and neither player got hurt.
Deslauriers, who turned 35 earlier this year, was signed to a four-year, $7 million deal ($1.75 million Average Annual Value) by former Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher. The contract at the time seemed to be a bit of a headscratcher. Yet Deslauriers seemed to do exactly what he was paid to do, namely be an enforcer on the ice, fight when need be, and prevent some of the more talented Flyers from being banged around by the opposition. In four seasons with Philadelphia, Delauriers surely but steadily saw his usage diminish. In his first season with the Flyer, he appeared in 80 games and had six goals and an equivalent number of assists for 12 points. In 2023-24 the forward played 60 games, scoring once and adding three assists.
The last two seasons however have been rather trying for Deslauriers. Although he had no fear of going head-to-head with the likes of New York Rangers tough guy Matt Rempe among others, Deslauriers saw his role diminish quite a bit in 2024-25 and again this season. In 2024-25 he was in the lineup only 31 times, scoring twice and adding an assist. This season it’s been a question more of when Deslauriers would end up in game action than when he would be a healthy scratch. The emergence of Rodrigo Abols before he was injured, as well as other call-ups from Lehigh Valley like Anthony Richard, pushed the veteran further to the sidelines. This year in 24 games he was still looking for his first goal of the year to go with a lone assist.
Now, by being traded out of Philadelphia, Deslauriers will get to possibly see some playoff hockey or at least play far more meaningful games down the stretch then it appears the Flyers will be playing. It’s questionable if he’d see playoff action. But depending on the series in question, injuries to his new club, or the depth they have, Deslauriers could be seeing some limited minutes in crucial games.
Drafted by Los Angeles in the third round (84th overall) of the 2009 draft, Deslauriers has played just over 700 games for Buffalo, Montreal, Anaheim and the Wild before his seasons with Philadelphia. He has 53 goals to go with 52 assists for 105 points.
