On June 23, 2016, Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle signed a seven-year $44 million dollar contract to come to Florida after a brief stint with the New York Rangers. At the time, Yandle was a valuable puck-moving defenseman with obvious upside entering the peak-earning years of his career. He had proven offensive ability, scoring 47 points and playing in all 82 games. Now, it seems the Panthers are ready to move on from the aging blueliner. On January 14th, NHL-insider Andy Strickland tweeted “If Keith Yandle waives his no-move trade clause look for the Philadelphia Flyers to join Boston as potential landing spots.” This stirred speculation in the Flyers community, and left some fans wondering if it would be smart for the Flyers to use their remaining cap space on a trade for Yandle.Â
The answer should undoubtedly be no, seeing as Yandle would force the Flyers into exposing Nolan Patrick, Jakub Voracek, and Oskar Lindblom to Seattle. That already would be far too much for me, but combine that with the use of cap space, and it becomes obvious that Yandle just doesn’t make sense. Yandle’s deal does not come up until after the 2022-2023 season, which would leave the Flyers in a difficult cap situation for the next few years. Travis Sanheim, Carter Hart, and Nolan Patrick are all due for new deals before Yandle would come off the books, and likely all three due for pretty hefty raises.Â
Click here to shop at our store for Flyers Nitty Gritty
Would Yandle fit in the Flyers system? Probably, seeing as he played for the Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault during his time with the Rangers, but the Flyers already have multiple offensively-capable defenseman. The addition of Yandle would likely push Justin Braun out of the lineup, force one of Mark Friedman or Robert Hagg onto waivers and see Shayne Gostisbehere shipped out of Philadelphia (either for Yandle or separately.) The Flyers simply don’t need another offensive-defenseman, and definitely don’t need the extra cap hit. It does not seem that Yandle is in the cards for the Flyers, but they will have cap space to make a move for a player of their choice at some point this season.
