The Flyers are sellers; what’s their trade deadline approach?

The Philadelphia Flyers are hastily approaching trade deadline season with some juicy rumors already swirling. They\'ve had stints of success this season and are sitting in a playoff spot, but the most likely outcome is that we\'ll be seeing the Orange and Black sell at the deadline. Veterans like Sean Walker, Scott Laughton, and Nick Seeler all appear to be on the block — so what does that mean?

Not every seller acts the same. Generally, we see sellers acquire early-round draft picks for their veterans to push their rebuild or retool in the right direction. But it doesn\'t have to be that way. There are endless possibilities for how to rebuild the right way, and that\'s the predicament that General Manager Danny Briere will be faced with on and before the deadline on March 8.

So, the main ideas for how to sell are as follows: Selecting a player with the draft capital received, using said capital to trade up for an even higher pick, or acquiring a younger player or older prospect — similar to what Briere did with Jamie Drysdale — to skip the development process and have an athlete that can slot in the NHL seamlessly. Logically, how might each of these options fare? What are the pros and cons of each?

Trading for late first-round picks

Let\'s start with the traditional \"trade a veteran for a pick\" strategy. There\'s a reason why it\'s so heavily preached, especially for a rebuilder — teams value their scouts. Looking back to a deal that could be fairly similar to what Laughton or Walker return, the San Jose Sharks dealt bottom-six forward Barclay Goodrow and a third-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 24, 2020, for a 2020 first-round pick and forward Anthony Greco who served as a throw-in piece.

The Lightning went on to win the Stanley Cup — a rather unfortunate result for the Sharks — so their selection fell all the way down to 31st. With it, they chose forward Ozzy Wiesblatt. Though he\'s still just 21 years of age, this one was sort of a wash for San Jose. In 70 American Hockey League (AHL) games in the last two seasons, he has just eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points. He could theoretically make it to the NHL, but the chances of him being a truly valuable player there seem low.

But that was a deal that failed for a rebuilder. At the same deadline, the New York Islanders traded a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and a third-round pick to the Ottawa Senators for center Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Despite the Islanders going on a surprising run that got them to the Conference Final, tanking Ottawa\'s draft selection in the process, they landed one of the more promising young players in the NHL in Ridly Greig with the 28th-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

There are obviously more examples that can be applied, but the hit rate is pretty random regarding these player-for-pick deals. Fortunately for the Flyers, their scouting department has been pretty good at their job these last few seasons. In the late first round and in the second round, they\'ve landed forwards Tyson Foerster and Samu Tuomaala, defenders Emil Andrae and Oliver Bonk, and goaltender Carson Bjarnason from 2020 to 2023. Right now? That\'s looking like a nearly flawless hit rate. If there\'s any team you\'d want taking chances on these draft picks, it\'d undoubtedly be the Flyers. Though taking players after the early- and mid-first round is generally hit-or-miss, that\'s not always a bad thing.

Trading up in the draft

So what if a team wants to try and make their chances of landing a good player higher? What has that looked like?

Nowadays, it\'s pretty rare to see teams trading up in the draft. In fact, there wasn\'t a single deal made on the first day of the 2023 NHL Draft. If it were to happen, though, the Flyers have the ammo for it. They hold their own first-round choice, one that they acquired from the Florida Panthers in the Claude Giroux trade, a second-sound compensatory pick (thanks, Jay O\'Brien), and a conditional second-round pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets that can be pushed to 2025 if they choose. The latter is almost guaranteed to happen, but even still the Flyers are looking at a decent chunk of picks for 2024 alone already. Instead of adding to it, should they trade up?

We\'re not talking about a 2016 Flyers-esque move here that slots a team up or down a few spots. It should be something that gets them in the early first round, and that can only happen if they sell at the deadline, really. We almost never see teams trade a high-end pick unless a player is included , but there are reasons why a team might trade back. The Minnesota Wild have the sixth-worst record in the NHL this season but have a good core of players with great prospects; would they consider trading back?

How about the Calgary Flames, who don\'t have their first-round pick next season and look to be entering a rebuild with the first domino to fall being forward Elias Lindholm? Would they try and stack up the prospect core?

Early on, the first round in 2024 seems to have some elite talent that could really help the Flyers. It wouldn\'t be a bad option to trade up instead of relying on a less coveted player to develop into a star. In order to push the rebuild forth, the Flyers will likely need to land another star, and those don\'t come from nowhere. Sacrifices have to be made, and this would be one.

Replicating the Drysdale acquisition

Lastly, what about trading for a player who is already developed? Logically, it makes a lot of sense — especially for a team with genuine playoff aspirations like the Flyers — to target some youngsters who have already had a few seasons to find their game in both juniors and, maybe, the NHL. While it wouldn\'t be a one-for-one deal, the Flyers could use what they get from players like Laughton, Walker, and Seeler and exchange that (and maybe more) for someone like 20-year-old defenseman David Jiricek .

Jiricek specifically hasn\'t quite found his groove in the NHL yet, but he is at least capable of playing there. He could be in the league for another decade and still be playing his best, which sounds pretty appetizing in theory. Instead of wishing for a teenager to become a star NHL player, the Flyers would be looking at someone a bit more developed than that. Doesn\'t that sound attractive? Philadelphia can have a good team and, simultaneously, get younger and have something to be excited about. If the right player is on the market, it\'s definitely something to consider.

If Briere can re-create the Drysdale trade without a prospect and instead with the players he is aiming to sell, it would be a \"build on the fly\" type of move. It would be similar to how the Flyers acquired players like Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds , just without giving up stars like Jeff Carter and Mike Richards. Serving as a move to surround superstar prospect Matvei Michkov with talent right away, it could allow him to progress into an NHL star as soon as possible.

So with all that being said, what should Briere do? Of all these options, what makes the most sense, and what will give them the best chance to succeed down the line?

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The Flyers are sellers; what’s their trade deadline approach?

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