The Philadelphia Flyers made a trade Monday evening. No it wasn’t for Trevor Zegras. Instead, the Flyers dealt defenseman Ronnie Attard to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for AHL defenseman Ben Gleason.
Gleason, 26, was signed by the Dallas Stars as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and basically had a cup of coffee with the club, playing four games and getting an assist during that first season. He spent the next four seasons in the American Hockey League with the Texas Stars. His best season with Texas was 2021-22 where he had 44 points (nine goals, 35 assists) in 70 games. In July 2023 the Oilers signed him and he spent 2023-24 with the Oilers’ AHL farm club in Bakersfield. So far this season with the Condors he had a goal and three assists in seven games. In 359 AHL games he amassed 177 points.
The move looks to be simply giving two players a fresh start in new locations. Both defensemen could be unrestricted free agents this summer — Attard would need to not play in the NHL this season to hit Group 6 eligibility — so there is no hold or commitment between both players and both teams. Two blueliners that are going to be trying to impress their new AHL coaching staff enough to maybe get an eventual look.
In Attard, the Flyers and the fan base once had hope of something else. He had some very interesting and intriguing tools as a point-shot shooter and while he wasn’t Jamie Drysdale out there in terms of skating, he could hold his own. The former third-round pick had enough promise to potentially turn into something at one point but it was never really put together. And the final nail in the coffin was during preseason action where Attard had such a terrible performance, everyone instantly knew that he would be stuck in the minors for a very long time.
Now, he can try to be Bakersfield version of Evan Bouchard and the Flyers are getting just some career AHLer in return to help support the kids down in Allentown. The end of the Ronnie Attard Era is here.
