The Game: 12:30 p.m. on NBCSports Philadelphia
The trade deadline has come and gone, and the Flyers made a couple moves that have hamstrung them in the short term but benefit them in the long term: Andrei Kuzmenko to the LA Kings, and everyone’s favorite glue guy Scott Laughton to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Oh, and Erik Johnson goes back to the Avalanche for one last ride. The returns for Kuzmenko and Laughter were solid (sending EJ to Colorado was more a favor to him), and demonstrate a commitment to the rebuild–we’ll be writing about these trades for the next week or so here at Broad Street Hockey, so stay tuned. In the mean time, check out our grades for the Flyers’ trade deadline!
On the games side of things, the Flyers have lost two straight in regulation and, while several other Eastern Conference teams ostensibly in the wildcard hunt are selling (Boston Bruins, New York Islanders), those losses might be enough to spell the end of their chances of making the post season.
No games before the @nhl trade deadline now for @NHLFlyers.
— Alexander Appleyard (@avappleyard) March 7, 2025
19 games left on the season.
Given they have the 3rd worst RW in #NHL, getting not far off impossible to make play-offs.
13-3-3 (.763) for 91 points would be likely what need from here.
Should sell today.#Flyers
Not that that’s a bad thing! The Flyers may be five points out of a playoff spot, but they’re also five points from a top five draft pick–and there’s a good chance they get there with their post-deadline roster. Plus, with some openings from the departures of Laughton and Kuzmenko, we should get to see some young players in the NHL sooner than later (looking at you, Alex Bump). Already, Emil Andrae is rejoining the team for the rest of the season, and Rodrigo Abols and Olle Lycksell are back, too.
Tonight, however, should be an easy win for the Orange & Black. The Seattle Kraken are, once again, #NotGood, and they got exceptionally worse after the deadline (more on that below). Their only saving grace is that Joey Daccord looks like a legit 1A, maybe even bona fide starting goaltender; if he shows up to play tonight, the Flyers (who are notoriously bad at actually scoring goals) might be in for a tougher outing than if you compared the two rosters on paper.
Storylines to Follow
Trade deadline fallout
The Flyers lineup is, in the short term, worse: Scott Laughton, for all his shortcomings, was functionally the 3C for this team and has no obvious replacement. Andrei Kuzmenko, warts and all, has offensive prowess–and the Flyers have struggled to generate offense all season. The Kraken made their moves early, dealing Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Tampa Bay Lightning for two (2!) 1st-round picks, and then Brandon Tanev was dealt to the Winnipeg Jets yesterday; that’s a depleted roster if we’ve ever seen one.
These are two teams that have chosen short term pain for long term gain, and they’ve got an afternoon matchup to see who’s still holding it together. This one could be a real slog because…
Kraken still bad
It’s been another tough season for Seattle. Nobody expected the Kraken to match Vegas’s expansion success, but one playoff appearance (and a round where they defeated the reigning champions!) since entering the league probably isn’t going to cut it. Sure, they’re trying to build long term, and they have some nice young players (Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, Berkely Catton), but there are some questionable contracts on the books (what’s up with that Chandler Stephenson deal?) that severely limit the ceiling of this team. Seattle’s second to last in the Pacific Division, they traded away several important players at the deadline, and it’s doubtful they’ll be much improved next season, either. That said, they’ve got a ton of draft capital to play with, so if they want to make some more dramatic moves? They’ve got the ammunition to get it done.
New guy?? Not yet
The newly acquired Nikita Grebenkin will be starting his Flyers tenure with the Phantoms, so we’re going to have to wait to see him in the NHL (but do read up on who he his and what he brings). Grebenkin is a good story: a 2022 5th-round pick of the Leafs who’s risen through the ranks on the back of productive KHL seasons and solid showings in the AHL and NHL, he’s got puck skills and, according to Elite Prospects, is “dynamic in transition.” The Flyers have, at various points, thrived off the rush–and Grebenkin brings a strong transition element that should benefit that system. Something to look forward to.
For now, the Flyers have recalled a bunch of Phantoms to plug the roster, and in his post-deadline presser yesterday, Danny Briere said Emil Andrae would be sticking with the main club for the remainder of the season. Andrae doesn’t have an immediate opening on the blue line to take, but it seems logical he’ll rotate with Egor Zamula on the second pair next to Rasmus Ristolainen. Hopefully he gets a look today.
Projected Lineups
Philadelphia Flyers
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Owen Tippett – Ryan Poehling – Travis Konecny
Olle Lycksell – Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov
Nic Deslauriers – Rodrigo Abols – Jakob Pelletier
Emil Andrae – Travis Sanheim
Egor Zamula – Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Sam Ersson
(Ivan Fedotov)
Seattle Kraken
Jaden Schwartz – Matty Beniers – Kaapo Kakko
Jared McCann – Shane Wright – Andre Burakovsky
Eeli Tolvanen – Chandler Stephenson – Jordan Eberle
Michael Eyssimont – Ben Meyers – Jacob Melanson
Vince Dunn – Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak – Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans – Josh Mahura
Joey Daccord
(Philipp Grubauer)
Gameday Tunes
The trade deadline has come and gone, and the lineup looks a little different. On to the next stage.
Stats courtesy Hockey Reference
