The days leading up to the 2023 NHL Entry Draft have been active for general manager (GM) Danny Briere and the Philadelphia Flyers. However, the rookie executive hasn’t quite gotten apparent deals to move Kevin Hayes, Travis Saheim, and Tony DeAngelo over the finish line. Meanwhile, the league is anxiously waiting to see what the Flyers do next.
“The fact that we came out and made it clear that we were going to rebuild, what’s been taking place here with the Flyers over the last few years has really opened the door to a lot of conversations with different teams. Our phone lines have been lighting up with different opportunities,” Keith Jones said on Monday.
It’s going to be an active week in Philadelphia, but can Briere, Jones, and the newly-constructed front office execute the right moves needed to get the rebuild started?
Hayes, Sanheim to Blues?
Flyers fans rode the roller coaster of emotions over the weekend when Jeremy Rutherford was among multiple sources reporting a trade sending Hayes and Sanheim to the St. Louis Blues. The return would’ve included a 2023 first-round pick and Torey Krug, but the Blues defenseman reportedly refused to waive his no-trade clause. The 32-year-old has children in St. Louis, and the idea of moving from a competitive team to a rebuilding one likely didn’t help. Pierre LeBrun pointed to how Briere needs to pick up the pieces after the reported deal fell apart.
“So now what? Well, there are three possible scenarios: 1) Krug softens and decides to go to Philly and the blockbuster is back on. No doubt he’s got Flyers players calling him trying to persuade him. 2) Krug doesn’t waive and the Flyers try to make a smaller deal with the Blues only involving Hayes. Or 3) There is no trade,” he wrote (from The Athletic, LeBrun: Rumblings on Johansen, Krug, DeAngelo, Dubois and more as the NHL kicks off draft week, 6/26/23).
The decision by Krug cost Briere and the Flyers the opportunity to move significant salary off the books. They would’ve retained up to 50% of Hayes’$7.14 million annual cap hit, but moving Sanheim before July 1 means his eight-year extension worth $50 million wouldn’t kick in until he became a member of the Blues.
Anthony SanFilippo spoke as a guest on 97.5 The Fanatic about the unusual situation. He mentioned that a separate trade involving Hayes would only include about 25-30% salary retention by the Flyers. He downplayed the interest of the Toronto Maple Leafs in a separate deal for Sanheim but pointed to the Calgary Flames as a possible trade partner because of their willingness to take on a big contract.
“Can Danny (Briere) still get that first-round pick for Sanheim that he would’ve gotten from St. Louis?” he wondered after the chaotic weekend of failed trades from the rookie GM.
Sanheim’s extension includes a full no-trade clause for the first four seasons, so he’d be able to nix any deal that happens after July 1. Briere now faces a potential blemish if he’s not able to execute a deal with at least a similar return package. The media frenzy surrounding the Flyers isn’t helping to take the pressure off him.
DeAngelo to Hurricanes?
SanFilippo spoke about how the Carolina Hurricanes agreed to send a “lower-level prospect” to Philadelphia for DeAngelo with 50% of his $5 million salary retained. This trade also hasn’t materialized, and Jeff Mark gave a logical explanation about a rule of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
“If you reacquire a player, and the team sending him to you is holding money, you have to wait until one year after the initial trade was made,” Marek said on the 32 Thoughts podcast.
The hold-up makes sense. The Flyers acquired DeAngelo from the Hurricanes on July 8, 2022. Without this rule, NHL teams could theoretically negotiate salary retention, swap players, and then immediately swap them right back to the same team to circumvent the salary cap. There’s no clear reason to think the trade can’t just simply take place after July 8. If the return package included just a prospect, it won’t affect Philadelphia’s draft strategy.
Related: 2023 NHL Draft Guide
However, the whole context of DeAngelo’s time in Philadelphia is an embarrassing case of mismanagement. Former GM Chuck Fletcher sent a fourth-round pick in 2022, a third-round pick in 2023, and a second-round pick in 2024 as part of his plan to “aggressively retool” the roster on the fly. DeAngelo quickly became a defensive liability. He couldn’t bring the Flyers’ power-play unit out of the league’s basement, and he finished the season as a healthy scratch for the final five games over an issue that head coach John Tortorella chose not to make public.
Now, he’ll return to Carolina while the Flyers eat dead money without three picks that could’ve been valuable to the rebuild. Briere is willing to cut the losses after a brutal mistake by his predecessor. The Flyers also acquired a 2022 seventh-round pick in the deal that they used to select Alexis Gendron.
Roadblocks to a Carter Hart Deal
The buzz surrounding Carter Hart hasn’t been as loud in the past few weeks. Reports made a blockbuster trade look imminent after the Flyers acquired goaltender Cal Petersen, but the noise has quieted down. Charlie O’Connor wrote about the misguided thinking that led people to believe the franchise goaltender was on his way out the door.
“The addition of Cal Petersen just adds another body to the mix, and improves organizational depth. But the idea that it creates a ‘logjam’ is foolish. Petersen probably will start next season in the AHL, unless both (Sam) Ersson and (Felix) Sandstrom flop in training camp, or Carter Hart gets traded this summer. They don’t really need to move out anyone,” he wrote (from The Athletic, Philadelphia Flyers’ draft and trade scenarios and jersey logos: Mailbag, 6/26/23).
Teams are hesitant to acquire NHL players who were on the roster of the 2018 Team Canada World Junior team. Hockey Canada hasn’t released the results of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault involving members of the national team. Briere is looking for an exorbitant trade package if he’s going to move Hart, and NHL teams won’t be willing to give up enough for a player who might miss time for disciplinary reasons.
Draft Preview
The aggressive approach of the Philadelphia front office during the 2021 and 2022 offseasons wiped out some of the organization’s draft capital. However, selling at three straight trade deadlines and moving Ivan Provorov on June 6 have offset the losses. The Flyers currently own 10 draft picks at the 2023 draft in Nashville, including two in the first, third, fourth, and sixth rounds. The first round will take place on Wednesday night, and the rest of the draft will take place on Thursday.
Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson, and Will Smith look like the first four picks based on consensus. However, any move involving Matvei Michkov in the top five could throw off one of the most intriguing drafts in league history. Pundits have mocked Zach Benson, Ryan Leonard, Dalibor Dvorsky, and David Reinbacher (among others) to the Flyers in the seventh-overall spot.
