What the latest road trip out in Western Canada confirmed was that the Flyers should sell, sell, sell by the trade deadline. They accumulated a record of 1-3, and lost some winnable games to the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks most notably. Without further delay here are the five most immovable contracts for the Flyers leading up to the trade deadline.
Ryan Ellis
Some people forget he is still on the team. He’s only played in four games as a Flyer, so it’s understandable that someone forget he’s part of the group. Unfortunately, no one knows if he (#94) will ever play again, and he still has four years remaining with a $6.25 million cap hit.
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A steady Right-Handed Defenseman in Ryan Ellis, who stands at 5’10 and weighs 180 pounds was a top pairing veteran Defenseman with Ivan Provorov, when healthy. That’s just it when healthy, as Ellis has only suited up for the Flyers in four games for the Flyers last season, and unfortunately he is out for the remainder of the season as expected, per Flyers General Manager Fletcher on Thursday December 1, 2022.
“I do not expect him to play this season, and if he plays it’s a bonus.” – Chuck Fletcher said at Training Camp
Sean Couturier
It’s very hard to replace a Center like Couturier. He does everything and does it well, when he’s healthy. That’s just it when he’s healthy. Chuck Fletcher was on record saying that he could be ready by late February-early March at the earliest if all went well, so within the next week or so when Fletcher speaks hopefully things become more clearer on a possible return for Couturier, or not. Couturier has skated/worked out on the rehab ice in prior weeks.
As it stands Couturier hasn’t played a meaningful hockey game in close to 14 months, so of course buyers at the trade deadline will not come to call about Couturier’s services. This could be more of an offseason move though, when everything becomes more clearer about the player. Still, he has seven years remaining on his contract, with a cap hit of $7.75 million per year.
Cam Atkinson
No one knows what is going on with Atkinson in terms of his injury, yes it remains a mystery. The only information that has been given to the us (The media) was it’s an Upper Body Injury. It’s not that anyone needs to know what or has been going on with Atkinson in terms of his injury, but he went from possibly playing in the home opener, to day to day, to week to week, to out for the season with season ending surgery. With everything that has been going on injury wise with Ryan Ellis over the course of the past few years. It was understandable for some fans to be worried that it was an Ellis 2.0 situation.
“He’s definitely a guy who can score goals, and makes a lot of plays,” Joel Farabee said after a practice in December. “He’s someone we need offensively.”
Cam Atkinson says this was a more severe injury than before. He doesn’t want his injury released to the public. Atkinson would rather keep it private.
The acquisition of Cam Atkinson highlighted some of the priorities that the Flyers had for their offseason shopping list in 2021: leadership, ability to play 5-on-5 and special teams, and a focus on shooting. Before the two Covid shortened seasons, Atkinson averaged 20+ goals per season. His career high came in the 2018-2019 season when he scored 41 goals to go along with his 28 assists. The ability for the Flyers to score goals has been a missing link for the 2022-23 season thus far.
Unfortunately, with the mystery surrounding Atkinson still has 2-years left at a rate of $5.875 million per year, and this makes his contract virtually impossible to move right now.
Kevin Hayes
Hayes is placed on this list because of the parameters surrounding his contract. It will be very, very hard to move Hayes by the trade deadline with him having a modified no trade clause, coupled with a team having enough salary cap space to obtain his services for the next three years of his contract. Usually contenders are against the salary cap wall when the trade deadline approaches, but this does not mean groundwork can’t be laid for a trade.
I believe teams that are inquiring about his services are laying groundwork for a trade possibly in the offseason. Some trades take up to nearly two years to make. Lots of trades aren’t cut and dry, and this is one of them.
With his modified no trade clause, he provides the Flyers with a list of 12 teams he would like to be traded to, to which if Chuck Fletcher was able to strike a deal with say the Arizona Coyotes, Hayes has to approve of the deal.
Hayes still has three-years remaining on his contract with the cap hit of $7.142 million. The Flyers will definitely have to retain money in order to move him. The question herein lies how much, and for how many more years of his contract? The good thing is his scoring output this season (17g,31a in 58 games played) comes at the perfect time with the Flyers hoping to shed some term contracts.
Travis Sanheim
This 26-year-old, 6’3 181 pound, Travis Sanheim entered the 2022-23 season with one goal in mind, improve from last year improve to his naysayers that his new contract was correct. Unfortunately, it’s been anything but blissful this season with Sanheim, as he has remained inconsistent throughout the majority of the season, to include a recent benching in a city that he used to play Junior Hockey in (Calgary Hitmen) against the Calgary Flames on Monday afternoon
In his first stint with the orange and black in 2017-18, Sanheim found himself in and out of the lineup at times. Fast forward to the 2018-19 season, and he became a permanent fixture on the Flyers blue line, emerging as one of the most consistent Defensemen that the Flyers had.
This young, gifted Defenseman in Sanheim has made the most of his NHL opportunity when he was given the chance to do so, but his new eight-year contract of $50 million ($6.25 million AAV) is very much difficult to move by the trade deadline. Usually teams don’t want to take on that much term, but with the inconsistencies showing in his game not only offensively, but defensively it’s virtually an impossible contract to move at this point.
Sanheim has made his fair share of mistakes, but with that, his game has grown to where he is now a permanent fixture as a middle pairing defenseman. Now it’s time for Sanheim to be consistent.
What will happen at the trade deadline this year for the Flyers is anyone’s guess. One thing is for certain though they will be sellers, with the likes of James van Riemsdyk, Justin Braun, and Nick Seeler to make a few.
Good stuff Jamey !