Photo Credit: George Walker IV, The Associated Press
The Philadelphia Flyers and General Manager Danny Briere made some depth additions both offensively and defensively during the March 8th trade deadline extravaganza.
Neither trade was one of significant nature. However, both could act as important depth additions for the Flyers throughout the remainder of the stretch run to the playoffs and potentially during the postseason.
Erik Johnson Acquisition
The Flyers acquired the former 1st overall pick in 2006, Erik Johnson from the Buffalo Sabres, in exchange for a fourth round draft pick in the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft.
When analyzing this trade it’s evident the Flyers were looking to bolster their defensive depth. Trading Sean Walker earlier in the week and the injuries to Jamie Drysdale, Rasmus Ristolainen and Nick Seeler certainly played a factor here.
At this point Johnson is a defenseman likely not at his best in terms of on ice play. Although his experiences and character seem to be main factors as to why the Flyers targeted Johnson as their depth defensive addition versus other options. Johnson has a wealth of playoff experience and has been through a handful of important on ice situations throughout his career. He also won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022.
All of the aspects above play into why the Flyers had to part with a fourth round draft selection to ensure they could acquire Johnson. Other defensive options such as Matt Dumba were traded for a fifth round selection but it’s Johnson’s winning pedigree that increased the cost for the defender.
It appears the Flyers value the experience Johnson brings to a young defensive group versus a player like Matt Dumba who stylistically may have been a better fit. Whereas Dumba would not have brought the same winning pedigree or amount of experience as Johnson.
Lastly, Danny Briere was a teammate of Erik Johnson’s during his final NHL season in 2014-15. Knowing what type of competitor Johnson is from first hand knowledge may have played a part in why the defender was targeted by Philadelphia specifically.
Briere addressed why Johnson was acquired by the Flyers in his post trade deadline press conference yesterday afternoon,
“What we’re looking for from Erik is to bring his experience, the fact that he’s played for a long time, the fact that he’s played a lot of playoff games, the fact that he’s won a Stanley Cup. Hopefully he can share a little bit of that with our young group, especially on defense right now, with all the injuries we have.”
Denis Gurianov Acquisition
The other acquisition the Flyers made on trade deadline day was essentially a no risk move for the organization. Philadelphia traded pending unrestricted free agent Wade Allison to the Nashville Predators for winger Denis Gurianov, who will also be a UFA after this season.
The trade is a low risk, high upside type of deal for both the Flyers and Predators. Both players seemed to no longer be in either organization’s future plans. As a result, the teams decided to swap these forwards and see if they benefit from a change of scenery and revitalize their on-ice play.
Gurianov is certainly an interesting addition considering he was a former first round, 12th overall pick back in 2015. The winger does have a 20 goal season under his belt while he was a member of the Dallas Stars in 2019-20. Additionally, he had a very impressive playoff run with Dallas during the same season in which he registered 17 points in 27 playoff games.
Since that 2019-20 season Gurianov has struggled to take the next step in his development, and has been unable to stick with an NHL club after failed stints with the Stars, Canadiens and most recently the Predators.
The Flyers are hoping Gurianov can once again find his game with a new opportunity at the helm. With the forward set to turn 27 in a few months and Philadelphia being his fourth different team in the last two seasons, this may be his final chance to cement himself as an everyday NHL player and earn another contract.
From an on ice perspective, Gurianov’s skating ability and shot are what stand out most. It will be fascinating to see where head coach John Tortorella places Gurianov within the Flyers line-up and the amount of ice time he is given. One interesting combination could be putting Gurianov with Ryan Poehling. The speed both would bring to one line would be difficult for oppositions to handle.
Danny Briere had this to say about acquiring Denis Gurianov after yesterday afternoon’s trade deadline had passed,
“He’s interesting. Big 6’3 left winger that can skate like him, the fact that he’s had some success in some big games. He had a pretty interesting playoff run a few years ago. I know it’s been a little tougher for him the last couple years. But if he catches fire again, we’re a little thin on the left side, and he brings us speed and size. Who knows where that goes.”
Flyers value culture and believe it can contribute to a teams development
One crucial takeaway from the 2024 Philadelphia Flyers trade deadline day is the move they did not make. That was the Flyers deciding to hold on to assistant captain Scott Laughton. Based on Laughton’s positive impact on the locker room and his resurgence in play lately, it was evident the Flyers seemed content with keeping the player unless a team overpaid for him significantly.
Keeping Laughton and acquiring a character veteran such as Erik Johnson establishes that the Philadelphia Flyers are of the mindset that locker room culture is a critical component of overall team development and the progression of young players.
Ensuring the Flyers younger players are in a positive environment that can foster their on and off ice development appropriately is clearly something the Flyers value just as much as acquiring draft capital or other important assets.
The following quote from Danny Briere only furthers the claim above,
“You can acquire all the assets that you want, and you can look at other teams that do that. They acquire the assets, but it’s tough when you don’t have the right culture to develop those guys. That’s another reason why player development was an important part of the adjustment we made this summer.”
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, the Philadelphia Flyers had a productive week from a roster management perspective. In regards to their overarching goal of rebuilding and not subtracting valuable assets to add to this current Flyers roster, Danny Briere and his staff certainly stayed on course with the moves that were made.
Briere was able to add pieces to the organization that can have an impact in the future. While still rewarding the current Philadelphia Flyers team by making useful additions to the roster without having to trade away many assets.
Below is the full recap of additions and subtractions to the Philadelphia Flyers organization after yesterday’s trade deadline:
IN :
Erik Johnson
Denis Gurianov
Ryan Johansen
2025 conditional 1st round pick
2024 fifth round pick
25 % percent retainment on Noah Hanifin’s contract
OUT :
Sean Walker
Wade Allison
Mikhail Vorobyev
2026 5th round pick
2024 4th round pick
It will be interesting to see if the additions made by the Flyers yesterday allow them to retain their current playoff position and secure a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2020.
