Flyers: As Trade Deadline Looms, Flyers Still Evaluating Possibilities

Eight days remain until the March 7 trade deadline in the NHL, and already, things are heating up. After a flurry of trade activity prior to the 4 Nations Face-off, things quieted back down during the break. But decisions loom for many teams with the deadline now officially around the corner.

Despite picking up two wins in convincing fashion out of the break, the Flyers remain in the same position. While just five points out of a playoff spot, they are also behind four teams still on the outside looking in for the playoffs. As such, their playoff odds are highly unlikely, just a 1.9 percent chance according to MoneyPuck.

As with most teams in this position, the focus shifts to the trade deadline.

Who are the Trade Candidates for the Flyers?

The Flyers have just two unrestricted free agents on the roster: defenseman Erik Johnson and newly-acquired forward Andrei Kuzmenko. Everybody else on the roster is either a restricted free agent or has multiple years remaining on their contract.

The Flyers could certainly look to move Johnson to a contending team as a depth piece at a small price, but there isn’t likely to be a huge market. Kuzmenko’s name surfaced in reports as a possible flip option, but the Flyers seem to want a prolonged audition period for the forward in the remaining 23 games of the season.

Having only two UFAs puts the Flyers in a unique position, one where they can sell, but don’t have to. They don’t face a situation of missing out on value now for a player that could just walk away in the offseason.

Two names that are certainly out there in the rumor mill are Scott Laughton and Rasmus Ristolainen. This is an annual occurrence for Laughton. His name has been part of deadline rumors for years. And rightfully so. Every year, he seems to have plenty of suitors.

The Flyers value Ristolainen for his size and physicality. He’s a right-handed shot, also a commodity on the blue line. And his contract, which was considered at the start to be too high a value for Ristolainen, has aged nicely as the salary cap has risen.

‘You Can’t Fall in Love’

John Tortorella spoke extensively about the approaching deadline on Wednesday. And while Tortorella is not the one who makes the ultimate call on any moves made at the deadline, he is aware and part of the discussions that are prominent at this time of year.

“You’re always looking to improve your team,” Tortorella said. “We have to improve our team. Danny [Briere] is listening. He has to listen. We’re in that stage where we have to improve our team..

“I do think you have to listen because you can’t fall in love. If there’s something that really is a good situation for the timeframe that we’re in with our team right now, I’m sure Danny’s going to look really hard at it. I don’t think anybody is a lock. You have to listen. But you just can’t make a trade because you think you have to make a trade.”

That only feeds into the unique situation the Flyers face. Last season, the Flyers towed the line with their pending UFAs. They traded Sean Walker for a first-round pick, but extended Nick Seeler. This season, they don’t have that standout rental that commands the market. And they’ve already made one impactful move by sending Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to Calgary.

That could be the extent of their trade deadline moves or it could be only the beginning of the casualties to come.

“The trade deadline is a dangerous situation,” Tortorella said. “I think free agency is a time of year when you can screw up your team for years because of the money that’s being spent at that time, basically almost bidding against yourself half the time. Trade deadline is scary too, but we have to get better. And when you try to get better, there are going to be some casualties.” 

‘We Can’t Have Soft Skin Here, Because You Get Stuck in the Mud’

The Flyers certainly have a road map in front of them to improve the roster. While they have some glaring needs within the roster, they hold seven picks in the first two rounds of the upcoming NHL Draft and have plenty of cap space opening up.

The NHL’s salary cap is expected to rise at least $7.5 million this offseason. The Flyers could have another $5.5 million off the books if they don’t retain Kuzmenko. They have another $3.85 million coming off the books in Cal Petersen’s contract. Another $1 million will move with Erik Johnson’s expiring contract and another $1.67 million as Tony DeAngelo’s buyout closes. That’s a total of $19.52 million that could be available. If the Flyers were to move Laughton and Ristolainen, up to another $8.1 million could be added to that total.

That would allow the Flyers to be more aggressive on the trade market in the offseason, to potentially add a big piece. It could lead to an offer sheet signing. 

That would be the motive for moving anyone else at the deadline or in the offseason, with the goal of doing it for the good of the team in the long run.

“I still think you can’t miss any steps here as far as staying in neutral and hoping. We have to get better as a team. If we want to be competitive and a competitive playoff team, we have to be better in personnel,” Tortorella said. “And that’s certainly not running down our personnel. I love working with this team. They play hard, we’ve been inconsistent, but I love working with them. 

“If some are moved in the sake of us trying to get better, you feel bad about it, but this is a business. This is part of it. We can’t have soft skin here, because you get stuck in the mud. I think this organization has been stuck in the mud for a number of years. We have to stay true to what Dan Hilferty, [Keith Jones], myself, and Danny have talked about that we can’t fall in love. If we think we make our team better and keep progressing to be a more competitive team, we’re going to do it and there’s going to be some casualties.”

The Evaluation Process

When you’re not a playoff team, especially with more than a quarter of the season remaining, what do you do? In the Flyers case, a consistent part of the process has been evaluating players to determine who stays and who goes. That’s continued this season.

Briere highlighted some of that evaluation following the trade with Calgary in January. He felt that Farabee and Frost had been surpassed in their development by Noah Cates, Bobby Brink, and Tyson Foerster. The further down the ranking they slipped, the more a decision loomed.

The Flyers don’t need to do more evaluation on the players they are most likely to move at this years deadline. They have seen more than enough of Laughton and Ristolainen to know what they are and what they bring to a lineup and a locker room. But they are still evaluating team needs and trying to determine what they would be willing to offer to fill those needs should it be done via trade.

“Danny and I have constant conversations about this and they’ll ramp up here as we get closer. I think Danny has been fantastic in getting information from the coaching staff down there as far as what we think our needs are, as far as our evaluation of players,” Tortorella said. “We have a number of players who have been here a number of years, and we continue to evaluate. And to me, I have some strong thoughts as far as I don’t think they’re going to be on the bus. That’s not to run them down, it’s just I need to be honest with my general manager about that.”

This process has created transparency between the team’s front office and coaching staff. As much as the focus for the coaching staff is on the day-to-day and trying to win games, Tortorella said that information about the players' daily interactions and performance is extremely valuable to management.

“Danny’s been very transparent with us. I love working with him because we’re very open in our dialogue,” Tortorella said. “And Jonesy’s the same way. I think it’s imperative that the general manager gets information from the coaching staff that are dealing with these players every day. I think they need that information before you come up with a final determination of are they on the bus or are we going to look to move them maybe to help us down the road in a future situation to make us better.”

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.