A Realistic Trade Target For The Flyers

Photo Credit: Jose Moreno of the Philadelphia Inquirer

As the clock keeps ticking towards the NHL trade deadline, there are some holes within the Flyers lineup that Chuck Fletcher would like to shore up between now and then. A glaring hole is a need for a top six sniper, but that will come with a hefty price. Fletcher more than likely will have to wait until the off-season to fill that vacancy.

Unfortunately, the Flyers only have approximately $469,000 of cap space left, per Cap Friendly. With that being said, it’s unlikely the Flyers move JVR’s contract, as many NHL teams are in the same situation as the Flyers, in regards to the cap. These type of cap deals usually take place in the off-season. However, what Fletcher could do is add a bottom 9/bottom 12 player by the deadline, to provide much needed depth within the bottom six units. From now until the trade deadline, I will feature one player a week that the Flyers could realistically add for depth purposes. This week let’s talk about a Center from the Nashville Predators Nick Bonino.

Bonino is an intelligent hockey player. He is strong defensively, and possesses an active stick. He doesn’t have the best skating abilities, but he can pot goals in tight spaces, and is tough to move off the puck. Bonino is a two-way center that possesses puck skills, and has a keen hockey sense. For his efforts, Bonino is valuable on the penalty kill, and he can really score some big goals on the Power Play.

This 31-year-old in Bonino is a solid versatile, bottom 9 player that plays the game the right way, and is good in the locker room. He could also play in the top six if need be. Moreover, Bonino would fit in well in Head Coach Alain Vigneault’s system, as he is a defensive first type of player. However, Bonino can pot a big goal or two, as well. For the season, he has registered 17 goals, and 14 assists for 31 points in 54 games played.

I know what everyone’s thinking, what would it cost to acquire Bonino? Bonino has one year left on his contract, and currently has a cap hit of $4.1 million, per Cap Friendly. Realistically the Predators would want a similar player in return, so Michael Raffl, a prospect (Matthew Strome or Mikhail Vorobyev), and a fourth round pick to the Predators for Bonino should suffice. The only reason I would think about giving a fourth round pick is to sweeten the pot for the Predators to retain at least approximately $1.4 million of his salary to fit in Bonino’s cap hit. The Flyers would have approximately $2.3 million in cap relief by trading Raffl’s cap hit of $1.6 million, plus sending back Connor Bunnaman to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms ($736,000 cap hit). Of course, add in the available $469,000 in cap space available now, and woolah that gives the Flyers $2.7 million of cap space. This deal honestly could work for both clubs. This would save the Predators $1.1 million worth of cap space, and trading Bonino becomes more of a possibility with the more the Predators lose.

With the uncertainty to Nolan Patrick, and the loss of Oskar Lindblom being felt within the lineup. Bonino could be a huge asset for this young Flyers team. Even if and when Patrick returns, Bonino could still plug a hole as a fourth line Center, thus giving Head Coach Alain Vigneault four really solid lines to work with.