In light of the recent trade rumors around 29-year-old defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, the Philadelphia Flyers have quite a few defenders that they might be parting ways with at this season’s trade deadline. They aren’t overly excited to start shopping with how well they’ve performed to this point, but that time might come at the deadline. After that, the Flyers might be looking at a completely revamped defense.
Flyers May Sell High
By not making a trade of Ristolainen even with him garnering some interest, the Flyers are sending the message that they aren’t willing just to sell players right away. Perhaps they are trying to get the best deal possible for all players, and that’s what it seems they are doing with the veteran defenseman.
The Flyers still need some time before they are legitimate contenders, so hoarding their defenders is probably not in their best interest. At some point or another, players like Ristolainen, Sean Walker, Nick Seeler, and even Marc Staal will be traded in all likelihood. When that happens is yet to be determined, but whatever general manager (GM) Danny Briere deems as their peak value is logically what he should sell them at. There’s still time to make some trades, but they do have to happen at some point unless he plans on keeping them for a while.
It wouldn’t necessarily hurt the Flyers if they were to hang onto one of either Ristolainen or Walker, but neither of them is needed if the orange and black think they can become a genuine contender within the next few years. There’s no point in making them a part of the long-term future, even if they have played incredibly high in their action, so far. Both are 29, there isn’t enough room for a rebuilding team to hang onto them for years to come.
So, if the Flyers have been listening in on offers for their defenders but haven’t made a move yet, a logical explanation is that they are just holding out for a bit longer. The team is riding some good mojo right now, so this makes sense. Until a wild collapse occurs or an offer too good to pass up is given to Briere and the Flyers, they might be staying put for a while.
For those who want an indication as to whether the Flyers are fully committed to rebuilding the team by acquiring as many assets for veterans as possible, that time should come at some point. For now, they are winning games and will likely continue to do so as long as their lineup is at full strength.
Related: Flyers’ 2023-24 Success Sustainable But Shouldn’t Change Rebuild
In projecting some actual offers, Staal’s value is definitely the lowest of the four defensemen mentioned. He isn’t having a bad season by any means and could draw some interest as a depth defender from a contender. A real offer likely won’t arise until the trade deadline, as teams are still figuring out where they stand as a roster just over a quarter of the way through the 2023-24 season. A late-round draft pick or underachieving prospect would be a solid return for the Flyers and a realistic one at that.
30-year-old Nick Seeler has become a legitimate NHL defender with the Flyers. He was more so a staple to the American Hockey League (AHL) before he joined the Flyers, but he is now an above-average defender. He is playing third-pairing minutes for the Flyers and has done well in that situation. He seems to be the dream defender of a contender, blocking shots, playing well in his own zone, and starting to contribute in the offensive zone. A mid-round pick is good value for him, but with how he has played, he could return even more. Credit where credit is due, former Flyers’ GM Chuck Fletcher made a smart decision not to trade him at last season’s trade deadline.
As for Ristolainen, his value is very difficult to project. He still has four seasons left on his contract worth $5.1 million per season, so that’s a hard deal to move. It is extremely unlikely that Briere and the Flyers are willing to retain money on the deal, as coughing up money in the long term is something that should be avoided at all costs with how important cap space is in the modern NHL. Even if Ristolainen regresses from the play he has shown so far this season, a second-round draft pick would be a favorable return. If the Flyers can free themselves of over $5 million and get an asset back, that’s a pretty sweet trade-off.
Walker is the best of the three defensemen — and plays the most minutes, too. Since his contract is cheap but for only one season, the value might not be too much more than Ristolainen. He was a throw-in player for the massive Ivan Provorov trade the Flyers made during the summer, and he has surprisingly been even better than the former Flyer. If the Flyers got multiple draft picks in the first two rounds for Provorov, the value for Walker should be a little bit less considering he is set to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this offseason. A right-handed second-pairing defender playing at a high level still isn’t cheap, so there should still be interest there. A first-round pick is the hope, and an offer like that shouldn’t be too unrealistic. Settling for something like a second-round pick today should be out of the question if Briere believes they can get a first-round selection.
Where Trades Would Leave the Flyers
In the hypothetical scenario where the Flyers trade Walker, Ristolainen, Seeler, and Staal, they’d have lost four of their six regular defensemen. That might appear to leave their defense bleak for the rest of the season, but their depth on defense is actually pretty solid. Sure, they’d be hurting a bit, but not significantly.
23-year-old Egor Zamula has already surpassed his career-high in games played this season, with his previous record being 14, so making him an everyday lineup player isn’t far-fetched. Louie Belpedio was in the same boat and was playing some really good hockey before he was sent down to the AHL. The issue with him was not a fault of his own, but rather that the Flyers had too many bodies on the blueline. He should be a regular on the Flyers’ roster with how he has played, anyway. 21-year-old Emil Andrae was with the Flyers early this season, but things just didn’t work out as they had planned. Getting him another shot would be nice, as he is expected to be someone who stays for a while. The last defenseman could be someone like Victor Mete, who played a single game with the Flyers this season but wasn’t impressive overall. He’d still make a fine third-pairing defender, however.
The Flyers wouldn’t have a true second-pairing defender left on the roster, but it still wouldn’t be impossible for the Flyers to make a push for the playoffs after the trade deadline if they sold all the defensemen listed. Their job in this scenario might be incredibly difficult, but it goes to show that they can still balance their rebuild without destroying the fantastic season that the roster has built up.
There’s still so much time left before the trade deadline, but it is approaching pretty fast. Until then, the Flyers might be content with keeping their roster intact until their trade window closes.