There has been a lot of news circling the Philadelphia Flyers as we get deeper into the schedule and we approach the trade deadline. Trades have started, and the Flyers have named their asking price for possibly their biggest trade chip. Head coach Mike Yeo gave an update on the status of Ryan Ellis after a long road to recovery, while another young talent was sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL).
Flyers Name Asking Price for Giroux
The Flyers are still waiting on confirmation that Claude Giroux will waive his no-movement clause and for which teams. But even if he does, and it’s looking more and more likely that he will, given how the team has fallen, Philadelphia is asking for a nice haul in return for their captain as a rental before the 2022 Trade Deadline.
According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN, the Flyers are asking for a first-round pick, a prospect, and a young NHL-ready player.
That would be a great return for an upcoming free agent and not unrealistic considering worse players have been worth at least a first-round pick on the market. Giroux has had the best season of any player on the Flyers and can play center or the wing. He has a tremendous faceoff percentage of 62.0 and is tied for the team lead in points with 39 in three fewer games than Cam Atkinson.
Related: Flyers: Potential Trade Returns for Giroux From Avalanche, Wild & Blues
Giroux has seven games before he reaches 1,000, and you have to assume he wants to hit that with the Flyers. The team has nine games before the trade deadline, so if, and probably when, he gets traded to a contender, it will be in the final couple of days before the deadline. Interested teams like the Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, and Carolina Hurricanes will be able to get a final first-hand look at Giroux before pulling the trigger on a deal.
Ellis Likely Done for Season
The Flyers may have finally decided to shut down Ryan Ellis and ensure he’s 100 percent for next season. It would be wise to follow suit with the decision they made with Sean Couturier, as they are all but out of the playoff race.
“I don’t know if he skated in the last few days. I don’t even know if I’d really call it skating with what he was doing. He was just kind of there on skates, sort of gliding around. He certainly wasn’t pushing himself to any point where we would think he’s a possibility to return any time soon.”
Mike Yeo
With just 29 games left in the season, and Ellis still not close to coming back, Yeo had this to say: “Obviously, we’re getting to the point in the season where it’s looking less likely that he’ll play. But nothing has been fully determined yet.” Surgeries can take months to recover from, so if the team decides that’s the right way to go after trying out different rehabs, he would still have time to get into game form by the end of the offseason.
Like Couturier, the Flyers need Ellis back and paired with Ivan Provorov if they hope to see him be the impactful player he was two seasons ago and give the team a fighting chance next season.
Ratcliffe Gets Sent to Lehigh Valley
As of today, another young Flyers was sent down to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL: Isaac Ratcliffe. He has played 10 games this season, including his first in the NHL, and has one goal and four points (from “Flyers youngster Isaac Ratcliffe ‘walking the walk’ and reaping the rewards in first NHL stint, Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/2/22). He played a bottom-six role, but with his size, skill, and offensive potential, he could be utilized on the power play in a net-front role and higher up in the lineup in the future.
Ratcliffe joins Morgan Frost and Connor Bunnaman as young forwards recently demoted. A reason for this is to get them more touches and playing time until some of their NHL regulars are traded by the deadline, and they can be called back up to finish the season. There’s a chance Wade Allison could be cleared to play, so that may have been another factor involved in the decision.
Yeo spoke about Ratcliffe, saying, “I feel like he’s a very competitive player.” Yeo also noted a turning point – after his Ratcliffe’s second penalty of the game in a win over the Washington Capitals: “Before then, he was embracing every shift, every opportunity as a chance to prove himself…since then playing a little more reserved.” The temporary demotion might be an attempt to get that back with a little less pressure of not playing at the highest level.
The Flyers will be worth keeping a close eye on as they have some of the most intriguing assets that may be dealt before the trade deadline. As players are shipped out to help the organization next season and beyond, the prospects should be called back up for an elevated role on the team to finish out the season.
