Will Hextall Pull The Trigger On A Trade Before The Deadline?

Heading into Thursday night's game versus the New York Islanders, the Flyers record stands at 26-21-7 and they are in the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference standings.  It was a surprise to many for the Flyers to make the playoffs last year, which raised expectations for this season despite the team being in a transitional phase as the roster is evolving as they fill slots with their top prospects from their system.

Flyers Radio Analyst Steve Coates joined The Sports Bash on Thursday and discussed whether GM Ron Hextall would make a move before the NHL Trade Deadline:

"I would think (Ron Hextall) would wait until at least the last week before (NHL Trade Deadline) to see where his team stood, to see what the upsides would be, the opportunities to make the playoffs, all the different combinations to understand what you need to do whether you need to sell off to make that last run to the playoffs....But a lot of different combinations and permutations have to come into the decision whether to stay pat or make a move.  The one thing that's he's always preached is he was going to stick with keeping his own people and building from within.  And that's why you haven't seen him make any big splashes on bringing anybody in as a Free Agent or even possibility at the deadline date.  That's going to be a decision that he will make the last week of February."

Hear what Coates had to say about the struggles of Flyers offense, if Shayne Gostisbehere is in a 'Sophmore Slump' and analysis of the Goaltender situation