With the Flyers on the outside looking in right now (as far as the playoffs are concerned) they are going to have to decide really quickly if they still want to make a last-ditch effort (trade) to try and salvage this season before it’s too late, and whether they then will just have to throw in the towel on the season if not. With that being said, if they do decide to make a move, it’s quite obvious where they will be looking to improve: The DEFENSE! With many teams already on the pursuit of adding a blue-liner as well, the price of obtaining one of the top tier guys whose names have been dangled out there as trade bait (Mattias Ekholm of Nashville and David Savard of Columbus) is beginning to seem like too much of a risk for an inconsistent bubble-team like the Flyers right now. At this time the Flyers should be considered more than just one piece away from being labeled as true contenders for Lord Stanley’s Cup this season. Therefore, Philadelphia should not go out and overpay for the likes of these two defensemen (who their teams have been rumored to be asking for a 1st round pick and two prospects to acquire their services for a cup run).
Instead, the Flyers should be looking to obtain perhaps a second-tier guy that the other buyers (teams) may not be directing their full attention to right now: Such players whose contracts are set to expire at season’s end or have other circumstances that would make them readily available and would then come at a much cheaper price then the previously-mentioned players that are under most teams’ microscopes right now. No, this does not mean that Philadelphia should settle for a tired 35-year-old defenseman like Arizona’s Alex Goligoski who the Flyers have been rumored to be looking to acquire as of late. This move doesn’t make sense for a number of reasons: Goligoski is a left-hand shot when the Flyers need a right; He would come with a hindering cap hit of $5.48 million and just two points on the season to show for it; He is well past his prime and, in this writer’s mind, a trade for him would be a total waste of time and assets! I would rather see the Flyers give up on the season if they feel that’s the only trade they could make, and then just let the kids come up by placing young defensemen like Sam Morin, Yegor Zamula, Wyatte Wylie, and Mason Millman in a rotation on the Flyers’ blue line for the rest of year to give them an opportunity to show what they can bring to the table.
With that being said, one such player that would fit the Flyers’ needs better than Goligoski (if they want to still make a trade on the safer side) would be Brandon Montour of the Buffalo Sabers. Montour is one who the Flyers could have signed this off-season instead of bringing back Braun and signing Gustafsson. Brandon is just 26 years old and is a right-hand shot defenseman who is versatile in the sense he can play both sides of the ice when asked. He was a 2014 2nd round draft pick by the Anaheim Ducks where he was considered a steady piece on their blue line for a number of years. After signing with Buffalo last season he had 54 games played and he scored 5 goals and 13 assists for 18 points, all while managing to keep a +13 rating on the season. The reason why he would be available is that the Sabers currently find themselves at the bottom of the East Division with just 16 points and he is an unrestricted free agent yet again at the season’s end. Montour is a hard-working player who plays with a sense of calmness when the puck on his stick, which might be a welcomed feeling to the Flyers goaltenders right now considering their team’s defensive core has posted a combined 100 giveaways this season already! If acquired, the Flyers would only have to pay a portion of Brandon’s reasonable, expiring contract of just $3,850,000 this season and would then not be then obligated to protect him during Seattle’s expansion draft.
Another, perhaps more exciting, option that the Flyers could look to obtain is defensemen Jamie Oleksiak from the Dallas Stars. This 6’7 256-pound guardian of the blue line is 28 years-old and has a contract that is set to expire that only compensates him $2,137,500 this season. While Jamie is a left-hand shot, he frequently lines up on the right side when his team needs him to. Oleksiak would come with some recent playoff experience that he gained last season when both he and the Stars battled their way to the Stanley Cup finals where they came up just short of winning it all in a hard-fought series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. That playoff run saw Jamie net 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points in the 27 games played and he was also able to operate at a plus 11 rating during that time. Oleksiak is the towering physical presence the Flyers lack in their lineup right now. He can hit with the best in the league (as seen here).
He could easily be used to clear the porch in front of Carter Hart and he is more than willing to come to the aid of a teammate (like in the video below) or start a fight to gain momentum for his club (so that maybe a recovering cancer patient like Oskar Lindblom wouldn’t have to feel the need to step up and do that since no one else will on this club. Thank You Lindblom!)
Oleksiak would be the perfect player to bring some grit to this team for the rest of this season and shouldn’t cost as much as some others to acquire, given his expiring contract and the fact that the Stars will most likely be sellers given that they are near the bottom of their division with just 27 points on the season. Compared to other teams in their division who seem like certain playoff contenders, the stats are as follows: The Tampa Bay Lightning have 46 points, the Florida Panthers have 44 points, and the Carolina Hurricanes have 43 points on the season thus far. If Philadelphia does decide to acquire this punishing defender, they would not only be able to get a good look at what he brings to the table for the rest of the season, but they also would not have to feel the need to protect him given the fact that he is an unrestricted free agent after this season and then could take their time on re-signing him if they, in fact, do feel the need to retain his services in the future.
A final trade option that the Flyers could look to obtain that would not be as high on others teams priority list that could come in and help the Flyers is Anaheim Ducks defensemen Josh Manson, a 29-year-old right-hand shot blue-liner who stands at 6’3 and weighs in at 224 pounds. This Ducks’ assistant captain (who also plays a very gritty style of game) goes out there on a nightly basis and shows his team’s younger players how the game is supposed to be played! His physical brand of hockey has helped the Ducks remain a relevant contender for some years now, but as his team’s stars are getting older the Ducks are in the middle of a retool, evidenced by Anaheim currently finding themselves sitting in last place in the NHL’s West division. This is no fault of Manson’s since he has played in just 6 games this year given the fact that he has been out for a considerable amount of time with an oblique injury. Lucky for the Flyers, during his absence the Ducks had to bring up defenseman Jani Hakanpaa and their 2020 1st round pick Jamie Drysdale- both of whom have been playing absolutely phenomenally, which makes the need for Manson and his $4.1 million salary obsolete. Now that Josh is nearing a return (and is labeled day-to-day) the Ducks will be forced to make a decision: Bring back in the aging veteran who has been a rock for them in years past and send back down young talent who are thriving right now or do they decide to err on the side of youth and potentially speed up their rebuild? If the Ducks do decide the latter of the two options, the Flyers could definitely use Manson’s services. Having the chance to add a physical defenseman who could come in and play top-four minutes should be intriguing for Philadelphia). Joining the Flyers should be enticing for him as well: Josh would benefit because he would then have the opportunity to join a team who could possibly slide into the playoffs and might just surprise a few teams (if they are able to get their act together). To make this happen Manson would have to see the writing on the wall in Anaheim (that he might be no longer needed there) and thus decide to either waive his limited 12 team, no-trade clause or exclude the Flyers from being on said list. Manson is signed through next season; However, given his recent injury and current age probably would not even need to be protected during the expansion draft.
These are just three possible last-ditch efforts that the Flyers could make to try and salvage not only their defense but their season as well, before it is too late! All these moves would instantly improve the Flyers’ defensive core and might be options beyond just this season. It is quite obvious that the Flyers are presently off track and are struggling with their inconsistencies right now. If they want to get back on the right track, they may need to make a trade (like the ones this writer suggested above) sooner rather than later! For a major shakeup to this lineup might be the only thing left to try that could break this trance that the boys of Broad Street currently find themselves in right now!
