Surprisingly and to much displeasure, this article will not include any trade scenarios involving Bobby Ryan or Johnny Gaudreau. This is because…well…because there has never been a point and time where a deal for these two has been remotely close.
Now before I start, I’m almost positive that I have omitted some potential rumors from over the years. It happens. Sue me.
As the offseason is winding down and training camp is starting back up, I decided to have some fun by going deep into the archives, news articles, columns, and posts from the early 2000s (and even further back) to go find out Flyers trades and acquisitions that almost happened.
Ever since the tandem of Bobby Clarke and Paul Holmgren have vacated the Philadelphia General Manager office, the Flyers offseasons have been a little less erratic. And somehow, I can’t tell if thats better or worse than falling asleep to the offseasons under Ron Hextall.
DISCLAIMER: I will not be held responsible for any physical pain you might feel while reading this list.
Alas, here we have it, the biggest Philadelphia Flyers acquisitions that never happened:
1. Flyers could have had all 3 Stastny Brothers
In 1978, the Flyers selected Anton Stastny with the 198th overall pick. This was a move devised by Ed Snider in an attempt to get all 3 Stastny Brothers in Anton, Peter, and Marian to defect from Czechoslovakia and join the Philadelphia Flyers. However, Snider’s plan fell through when the NHL ruled that the Flyers selection of Anton Stastny was invalid due to the fact that he was not 20 years old in 1978 (20 years old was the threshold in order to be drafted).
The next year, the Quebec Nordiques selected Anton Stastny with the 83rd overall pick in the 1979 draft. All three brothers then defected from Czechoslovakia to play in Quebec and the rest is history. Peter ended up scoring 450 goals and 1239 points in 977 games while playing 15 years in the NHL. Anton had 636 points in 650 games, while Marian had 294 points in 322 games. Peter was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the Flyers would have won AT LEAST one cup in the 80s if they were to have the Stastny trio wearing the orange and black. However, I digress.
2. Bob Froese was all but traded the night Pelle Lindbergh passed away
November 10th, 1985 will always be a date Flyers fans will remember. However, what people don’t know about the night that Pelle Lindbergh passed away is that Bob Froese was getting traded out of Philly (admittedly, this is the least important detail about this day).
Nobody knows what the expected return for Froese would’ve been but the deal was set in place with the Los Angeles Kings. The reason Lindbergh did not play against the Bruins in a 5-3 win on November 9th, 1985 at the Spectrum was because the Los Angeles Kings wanted to see Froese play one last time before completing the trade.
Why would this trade prove significance? If the Flyers had completed the trade with LA before Lindbergh had passed away, the Flyers would have been without any goalie on the roster. This would have led the Flyers to call up a 21 year old Ron Hextall from Hershey to be the starting goaltender.
3. Simon Gagne was rumored to be traded to Calgary for Jarome Iginla
In 2002, Simon Gagne was coming off a season in which he compiled 66 points in 79 games as a 21 year old. He was even an All-Star as a 20 year old in 2001. According to the Toronto Sun, the Flyers were in serious trade talks to acquire a then 25 year old and eventual hall of fame player, Jarome Iginla, from the Calgary Flames.
Iginla was coming off of a 96 point season where he had won the Art Ross Trophy, the Rocket Richard Trophy, and the Lester Pearson Trophy while also finishing 2nd in Hart voting. The deal supposedly also included Jeff Woywitka who was one of the Flyers best prospects at the time and a 21 year old Justin Williams.
Iginla went on to have a Hall of Fame career scoring 625 goals and 1300 points in 1554 regular season games. If it weren’t for Iginla’s $7.5m cap hit at the time, who knows what could have happened over the span of the next decade for the Flyers if Iginla would have been with the club.
4. Flyers almost traded for Duncan Keith in 2004
Especially after the sting of the 2010 Finals, this one hurts a little more to write about. Former Blackhawks GM, Mike Smith, recently told a story about how the Flyers and the Blackhawks almost completed a trade in 2004. The trade would have sent Keith, a 3x Stanley Cup Champion, 4x All-Star, 2x Norris Trophy Winner and 2015 Conn Smythe winner, to the Flyers for a package involving Jeremy Roenick and Tony Amonte. Both Roenick and Amonte were 34 years old and passed their primes at this point.
Yeah, this one hurts. SHOT!
5. Flyers signed Ryan Kesler to an offer sheet in 2006
In a somewhat surprising move, the Flyers issued the first offer sheet in the NHL since 1999 at the time but agreeing to terms with Canucks star prospect and 21 year old Ryan Kesler for 1 year at $1.9 million. In 2005, Kesler had 10 goals and 23 points in 82 games and although those may seem like underwhelming numbers, the excitement came in terms of potential as Kesler was one of hockey’s biggest young names at the time.
Kelsler would go on to be nominated for the Selke Trophy six times in his career.
With retirement and injuries plaguing Flyers Captain, Keith Primeau, having Kesler’s two-way skills up the middle during Flyers playoff runs from 2008-2012 could have made a positive difference.
6. (LOOK AWAY) Flyers should’ve had Patrick Kane in the 2007 Draft
THOSE DAMN BALLS. To this day, I still cannot watch an NHL Draft Lottery show. Additionally, I have refused to play a single game of ping pong in my life and admittedly, if I see people having joy while playing ping pong, I must excuse myself, leave the room and bash my head against a piece of drywall.
HE WAS OURS! Say what you want about his character, but the Flyers would UNDOUBTABLY have AT LEAST one Stanley Cup in the past 10 years if the balls had rolled our way. Patrick Kane was THE prospect in hockey at the time. The crown jewel.
Since entering the league in 2007, Kane has not disappointed in the slightest (Well….on the ice). As of right now, Kane is a first ballot Hall of Fame player as he currently has 1022 points in 973 regular season games while also being a 9x All-Star who won a Calder Trophy, a Conn Smythe, an Art Ross, a Ted Lindsey Award and a Hart Trophy in 2016.
What about our prized #2 pick, JVR?
Well…he still plays. Got traded for Luke Schenn. Got him back after his prime. Is currently taking $7.5m from the Flyers.
Not a big deal.
You may have a few Stanley Cups, Pattycakes, but hey, at least we still had this moment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-CJXgWtm7U
Dammit. TAKE ANOTHER SHOT.
7. Flyers were close to bringing back Peter Forsberg in 2008 after trading him the year before
This is hard to believe, right? In this offseason the Flyers added Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen, Joffery Lupul, Jason Smith, and Danny Briere. In a year after the Flyers finished dead last in the NHL, even after all of the aforementioned acquisitions, the Flyers were apparently not done.
The Flyers traded Peter Forsberg for a second time to Nashville in 2007 in exchange for Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent and a pair of draft picks. However during the next offseason the Flyers were actually favorites to sign Forsberg for a second time before he decided to return to the Colorado Avalanche. Paul Holmgren even flew out to Sweden to talk to Forsberg and the Philadelphia Inquirer even went as far as saying that Forsberg was basically committed to retuning to the Flyers.
Salary cap wise, the Flyers were not able to accommodate Forsberg at the time given all their recent acquisitions. You have to wonder if adding Forsberg would’ve helped the Flyers defeat Pittsburgh in back to back playoffs series in 2008 and 2009, as opposed to the other way around.
8. (Yes, you knew this was coming) The Flyers signed Shea Weber to an offer sheet in 2012
Wow I remember it like it was yesterday. The Flyers broke the internet and the hockey world with this one as they agreed to sign one of the best defensemen in all of hockey, Shea Weber, to a 14yr/$110m contract in 2012. At the time of the signing it seemed as though Weber was always in contention to win the Norris and Hart Trophies year after year.
I’m convinced that this deal led Nashville GM David Poile to dive in every dumpster and sofa east of Memphis in order to get enough pocket change to match this offer. It really is a true mystery on how the Flyers would have performed over the past decade if they had Weber. Unfortunately for Weber, he’s been constantly plagued with multiple injuries to his foot over the past few seasons while eating up $8m in cap every year.
Its cool though. The Flyers got the next best things in Andrew MacDonald and Brandon Manning right after Nashville decided to match. All worked out according to plan.
9. The Flyers wanted….well…everyone in 2013
What an emotional offseason this was, eh Flyers fans? Holy Hell. From Bobby Lou to Parise and Suter to PK Subban, we heard it all in 2013. The result? we got NONE of them.
This is a key indication and wonderful ending in order to conclude this article, folks. This is why RUMORS MEAN NOTHING. I was never the same after this offseason, If I’m being honest.
This is where i learned how to take rumors with a grain of salt. So much promised, so much let down. So many tears… *sigh* if any of these were to happen, you have to imagine the Flyers could have had a few successful playoff runs over the past 10 years.
On the other hand, perhaps it was a blessing that some of these never happened. Imagine if the Flyers traded Sean Couturier or Claude Giroux when they were younger? Half of Philly would be under fire and covered in Paul Holmgren’s blood.
So here I present to you the graveyard of rumors past from the summer of 2013 (feel free to feel all of the emotions while playing her holiness, Sarah McLachlan’s, “I Will Remember You”).
Interesting Flyers in Luongo rumors now. Reliable source told me prior to Burke firing they would be 3rd team in a 3-way trade for Lou to TO
— Jimmy Murphy (@MurphysLaw74) January 10, 2013
Sean Couturier would likely be the piece going back to Montreal for Subban. Btw 2 other teams have contacted MTL about Subban.
— Josh Rimer (@JoshRimerPR) January 25, 2013
Sources say FLyers' gave Suter and Parise each a 10-year offer … guess the $$$
— Tim Panaccio (@tpanotchRET) July 1, 2012
WOO…shoutout Panotch.
Flyers were involved in trade talks prior to offer sheeting Shea Weber. I think things could heat up with St. Louis this summer.
— D.LEED (@D_LEED) June 4, 2013
*cough* …you mean the Flyers are trading Briere for Shattenkirk? You don’t say.
according to Renaud Lavoie, Flyers want Avalanche forward Ryan O'Reilly and the Avs want Flyers forward Sean Couturier.
— The Brotherly Bullies (@BrotherlyBully) February 19, 2013
Flyers have interest in Keith Yandle but doubt that's do-able today… Coyotes not looking to move him, would have to be huge offer…
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 3, 2013
What are we thinking here, Pierre? Think they’ll take JVR? Honestly imagining a locker room with Kevin Hayes and Keith Yandle might have enough electricity to power the whole east coast.
Okay, this is the end of the article, it is now safe to open your eyes. LESS THAN TWO WEEKS UNTIL FLYERS HOCKEY.
Follow me on twitter @FlyersJohnny
Photo Credit: NHL.com & CBC.ca
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