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Flyers trade Ivan Provorov to Blue Jackets in 3-way deal

The all-important summer for the Philadelphia Flyers has started with a bang.

According to multiple reports the Flyers have dealt defenseman Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a three-way deal that involves the Los Angeles Kings.

In return, the Flyers are reportedly receiving defenseman Sean Walker and goaltender Cal Petersen from the Kings, as well as draft picks from the Blue Jackets. Details are not confirmed at the time of writing.

Walker, 28, is a left-handed defenseman that is in his final year of his contract and set to hit unrestricted free agency next year. He was seen as an underrated blueliner that was putting up solid underlying numbers during his first couple years in Los Angeles but has plateaued a little bit in the last year or so. Given his age and contract status, we would not be surprised if Walker’s time in Philadelphia is only months long and he is sold at the trade deadline next season.

As for the goaltender Petersen, who is also 28 years old, he has two years left on a three-year deal that carries a cap hit of $5 million. Clearly, the Kings could not have that on their books for a goalie that played the vast majority of his games last season in the AHL. This is a clear cap dump but does pose an interesting possibility.

Petersen’s cap hit is too large for the Flyers to simply store him away in Lehigh Valley. And with Samuel Ersson deserving of a spot in the NHL next year – are we going to be seeing a Carter Hart trade relatively soon? A tandem of Petersen and Ersson is chaotic and unpredictable, but also a tandem perfect for a rebuild.

Provorov’s name has been in trade rumors for some time now. Ever since last season’s trade deadline, the defenseman has been projected to not be part of the long-term future of the Flyers team, and, well, he is definitely not a member of the Philadelphia Flyers anymore.

This move could be seen as cementing what this new management team has been talking about since they were given the reins. Almost everyone at that table – Danny Briere and Keith Jones, especially – made sure to mention that this will be a process and they will be aiming for the future instead of the present. Now with Ivan Provorov no longer a part of the Flyers, it is the first real (and massive) step on this difficult rebuilding journey.

UPDATE: The trade has now been made official.

To Philadelphia: D Sean Walker, G Cal Petersen, D Helge Grans, Kings’ 2023 1st (22nd overall), Kings’ 2024 2nd-round pick, and a conditional 2024 or 2025 2nd-round pick from the Blue Jackets

To Columbus: D Ivan Provorov

To Los Angeles: D Kevin Connauton, F Hayden Hodgson, retained 30% of Provorov’s contract

In conclusion, the Flyers got an absolute haul for Provorov. They got two NHL players that will either contribute to the rebuild in a way where they are terrible on the ice or shipped out at next year’s trade deadline. Additionally, they were able to snag a very solid right-handed defenseman prospect in 21-year-old Helge Grans, a very solid pick in an upcoming draft that should be deep, and a couple future second-rounders.

That is absolutely phenomenal.

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