The Philadelphia Flyers are the talk of the town as the NHL trade deadline quickly approaches. We are just two-plus weeks away from March 8th’s deadline and first-year general manager Danny Briere a few decisions to make.
One of those main decisions centers around defenseman Sean Walker. Walker was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in the Ivan Provorov trade last summer. That was Briere’s first trade as general manager, and it already looks pretty good. It could be even better depending on what the Flyers decide to do with Walker.
The 29-year-old defenseman is a pending free agent this offseason and is due for a pay raise from his $2.65 million cap hit this season. He’s proven that he can be a solid second-pair defender for the Flyers, but his usage may be better as a trade piece to help stock the cupboard for the rebuild.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman spoke about the Walker situation on this week’s 32 Thoughts podcast.
“I think there was a time where people thought that the Drysdale acquisition pushed Walker out. I definitely believe that the thinking has changed there,” Friedman said. “I was one of those people, too. I got those signals that Drysdale pushes out Walker. I no longer am certain about that.”
We, too, thought that the addition of Drysdale opened the door even wider for a Walker trade. However, given the recent injury to Rasmus Ristolainen and some questions on the right side of the defense, trading Walker may not be a slam dunk.
“I think it’s really fascinating. Philly … they’re playing cards. They’re playing poker. They’re trying to sign people but they’re saying ‘Hey, there’s a limit.’ But they’re also setting high prices on guys. It’s almost like they’re waiting to see what happens first: we get what we want or the player signs,” Friedman continued. “I think in Walker’s case the pendulum has definitely swung to ‘We prefer to keep him.’
“I think one of the reasons is Drysdale’s a super-talented player but he’s still very young and is learning how to defend, and I think they feel if Walker leaves, Drysdale’s going to be asked to do some things that he isn’t ready to do yet. So that I do think is part of this process. So yes, but I think it’s got to be at Philly’s number.”
Now, before you go get your pitchforks and torches out of storage, the Flyers could very well just be doing their due diligence on Walker. Let’s say that a team doesn’t want to pay up with a first-round pick for the veteran defenseman. The Flyers can’t show weakness and give in, especially given where they’re at in the standings and the fact that this is Briere’s first (of many) important trade deadlines.
At the same time, not moving Walker would raise a lot of eyebrows in Philadelphia. That could mean that the Flyers are confident that they can trade Ristolainen and his $5.1 million cap hit through 2027 while keeping Walker on a shorter-term deal with a slightly lower cap hit.
According to Friedman, the Flyers are looking in the mid-to-low $4 million range for Walker while the defenseman is aiming for closer to $5 million. Ultimately, trading Walker seems like the best move for the rebuild but signing him to a reasonable deal with the plan of moving Ristolainen in the offseason (which should be easier with the salary cap expected to rise) may not be a horrible backup option.
