A few weeks out from the March 8 trade deadline, the Flyers sit in quite a unique position.
They're rebuilding. The front office has stated this plainly numerous times. And yet here the team is holding on to a playoff spot two-thirds of the way through the season thanks to runs of impressive play and promising flashes.
Tomorrow is still the focus, and the Flyers still seem poised to ship out a couple of names in favor of assets these next few weeks no matter what, but even so, they might just go and make it to the playoffs anyway.
"Strategic selling" seems to be the term, and it's definitely a unique spot to be in, at least around here in Philly.
"We're still thinking about the future," Flyers general manager Danny Brière said last month. "What's happening right now, this is great. Our young guys are acquiring a lot of experience, having the chance to play in some really meaningful games, and it's gonna keep going for at least the next couple months. This is a great experience. I'm really excited about that.
"But again, we keep an eye on the future. We've said from the beginning, we wanted to build a team that was gonna be a Stanley Cup contender for years to come and not just one in, one out, one in, one out, like it's been going on. So, the eye is still on the future."
And from what's been going around the rumor mill of late, these could be the moves that help them get to it...
Likely on the block
• Sean Walker, just by the nature of the circumstances, appears on the outside looking in. He's played well this season, which has been a more than welcomed surprise carrying over from the three-team trade with Columbus and LA over the summer that was more about getting Ivan Provorov out than anything. But he's on an expiring contract and among a defensive logjam ever since Jamie Drysdale came over from Anaheim.
There are too many skaters, not enough minutes, and that run of solid play can nab the Flyers a valuable asset from a team in need. It's just the circumstances.
Per the Fourth Period's Anthony Di Marco, the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs are two of the teams believed to have checked in about Walker, with the Tampa Bay Lightning and at least one other Eastern Conference team possibly having interest as well. A first-round pick in return would be ideal, per Di Marco, and an upper-level prospect could work too.
"Again, when it comes to the deadline, as I've said the other day, we're gonna listen and if we feel it's the right thing to do for the future of the organization, we'll do it," head coach John Tortorella said after practice Friday. "Those guys on expiring contracts, everybody's always kinda checking around, so we'll see where it goes.
"We're not out there shopping Sean Walker, but we'd be dopes if we didn't listen."
Tortorella on deadline, rebuild: 'We cannot lose sight of what we're doing here'
Taking calls?
• Marc Staal was signed as a veteran presence on a one-year deal with the understanding that as the season wore on, his on-ice role was more than likely going to diminish. He's played 18 games so far.
There really hasn't been much buzz around Staal, but he also exists among the defensive logjam, and while the Flyers have praised him for his part in helping to bring along the younger defensemen, the next wave of leaders is emerging. If there's a team out there in need of extra depth, like with Justin Braun a couple of years ago, they should at least see what they might be able to net.
• Rasmus Ristolainen has reported interest, but his contract and playstyle does complicate things. He's owed $5.1 million per on his current deal for the next three years still, which means any potential trade would more than likely require the Flyers to retain salary, but the other problem, as Sporstnet Insider Elliotte Friedman discussed in Friday's 32 Thoughts podcast, is would the team he would theoretically be going to play like the Flyers?
Ristolainen has improved a lot on the backend over the last two seasons, but playing into that is the fact that Tortorella and assistant coach Brad Shaw have employed a defensive approach that has masked a lot of his lingering weakness dating back to his days in Buffalo.
Practice time is minimal at this point in the year, Friedman noted, which lends to the idea that Ristolainen might not be as plug-and-play for a deadline move as initially thought – the offseason, knowing there's a camp to get up to speed, might be the better time to make that sort of trade, Friedman added.
The Leafs and the Canucks are two of the known teams with interest in Ristolainen, per Di Marco.
Brière: 'We're still thinking about the future'
For an offer you can't refuse
• There's not a person in the building who wants to see Scott Laughton in anything other than a Flyers uniform, but the season so far, the past month especially, hasn't rendered him untouchable.
Compared to last season, Laughton's been struggling. His ice time is down too (about three minutes on average), and the Flyers just moved to re-up Ryan Poehling for two more years a couple of weeks ago, who occupies a similar role within the bottom six and with similar production while being just shy of five years younger.
At the same time, the projected center market for the deadline is looking considerably thin and had a notable bar set for it when the Canadiens managed a 2024 first-round pick and a conditional 2027 third from Winnipeg for Sean Monahan.
The Flyers might not want to do it, and ultimately they don't have to, but there is something big to be gained here if a good offer comes in. And they are at least listening, per TSN's Darren Dreger a couple of weeks ago.
A first-rounder is the asking price, Di Marco has reported since, and the Flyers aren't budging from it, because again, they don't really have to.
Laughton, who will turn 30 in May, has two more years at $3 million each remaining on his contract after this season, which is a pretty manageable term for most teams.
In terms of play, he's a versatile and responsible depth center who can be thrown into any situation, and can even slide out to the wing. It's his intangibles, however, that set him apart.
Laughton is a highly-respected leader within the Flyers' locker room, and was a major steadying hand last season when the team really didn't know what its leadership group looked like, or if it even had one. He was, and still is, the lone Flyer wearing any kind of captaincy letter on his jersey.
"He's that guy, he's the glue," Tortorella said of Laughton recently. "He's, especially with some of the youth that we have around here, I think they rely on him and ask him questions. Just the way he plays the game, I think it's so important with what we're trying to build here in Philly. The intangibles, when you're trying to build a team and develop a room, he has those and that's a big reason why he's wearing a letter."
But the room has developed a lot in the past year. Travis Konency, Travis Sanheim, and Joel Farabee have stepped up and become far bigger presences on the team, and having Sean Couturier back has been enormous for the Flyers' overall composure.
Laughton is still very much one of the guys teammates look toward, but he is just one of those guys now. That list has grown, which may be what makes the Flyers feel safe enough to move on if, say, a first-round pick does get put on the table.
They're not going to want to, but an offer like that, for the sake of the rebuild, can't be refused.
Staying in the picture
• Speaking of Konecny, he's improved greatly these past two seasons with bigger opportunities, so much so to the point that the 26-year old could be lining up to see this rebuild fully through.
Konecny, who earned his second All-Star nod this season with a team-leading 24 goals and 46 points, has one more year left for 2024-25 on his current deal with the Flyers, but per Friedman on Friday's 32 Thoughts, the Sportsnet insider does believe that the two parties are already working on what comes next.
"I think that the Flyers and Konecny are talking about this extension," Friedman said. "I believe they've made it a priority and they're gonna try to get it done. It's gonna be a big number. I don't know yet where we're going here. It's going to be a big number, but I believe the Flyers want to make sure that he is a lifetime Flyer, and I understand he's receptive to it. Why wouldn't he? He clearly plays like he loves it there."
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