It’s the trade Philadelphia Flyers fans have been waiting for — Isaac Ratcliffe is on the move.
The Flyers traded Ratcliffe to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations late Sunday night. What are those future considerations exactly? Fans may never know.
Ratcliffe was selected in the second round (No. 35 overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. In fact, the Flyers handed three draft picks to the Arizona Coyotes in order to trade up and nab him.
At the time, the selection made sense. Ratcliffe was coming off an impressive 2016-17 campaign with the Ontario Hockey League’s Guelph Storm in which he logged 28 goals and 54 points in 67 games. The production, paired with his 6-foot-5, 200-pound frame, was convincing enough for the Flyers.
Unfortunately, Ratcliffe has never managed to stick as an NHLer. He appeared in 10 games for the Flyers last season, logging a goal and three assists in those outings. But since the 2019-20 campaign, Ratcliffe has spent the majority of his time in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, logging 21 goals and 34 points in 160 games through four seasons.
He’s posted just four points (two goals, two assists) in 26 games for the Phantoms this season.
With the Flyers likely to miss the playoffs for the third year in a row, expect this trade to be the first of potentially several as the March 3 trade deadline approaches.
