THE TIME IS HERE! Expansion Draft, baby! The off-season has kicked off and Chuck Fletcher has already wasted no time (I know, I can’t believe it either) in acquiring his TOP need this offseason: a top pairing RHD in the form of Ryan Ellis.
As it stands now, the Flyers have 4 potential areas of improvement:
- Acquiring another top 4 defenseman
- Acquiring a top 6 scoring forward
- Acquiring a backup goaltender
- Rounding out the bottom 6 (giving the 4th line an identity)
With the NHL Expansion Draft approaching, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher has already stated that he is willing to make a side deal with the Seattle Kraken ahead of the Expansion Draft on July 21st.
Fletcher says he's open to either just letting Seattle pick and choose from who they leave available, or potentially working out a side deal to steer them into a specific direction (read: specific player(s). So he doesn't rule the latter out.
— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) July 13, 2021
Essentially what this means, is 3 possible deals, amongst others, could most likely happen:
1. Flyers could trade assets (picks/prospects/roster players) to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for them to select a specific unprotected player from the Flyers (i.e. Jakub Voracek or James Van Riemsdyk).
2. Flyers could trade assets (picks/prospects/roster players) to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for them to NOT select a specific unprotected player from the Flyers (i.e Flyers don’t really have anyone unprotected that they wouldn’t mind losing).
3. Flyers could trade assets (picks/prospects/roster players) to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for them to select a specific unprotected player from another NHL team and then trade that unprotected player to the Flyers.
For Example of #3:
(THIS IS A HYPOTHETICAL, NOT REAL/REPORTED) If the Flyers want a player like Matt Dumba of the Minnesota Wild that would be left unprotected, the Flyers could make a deal with Seattle to select him from the Minnesota Wild in the Expansion Draft and in turn, they would trade him to the Flyers for picks, prospects, other assets, etc.
However, the price of that could prove to be costly:
In chatting with front offices around the league the last 24-48 hours, one word to sum up what the Kraken are still asking for as payment in side deals to navigate the expansion draft: “Exorbitant.''
But I mean, there's still time before Saturday's protection list deadline…— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 14, 2021
This morning on @SiriusXMNHL, Elliotte Friedman said he thinks Seattle is going to be very concerned with maintaining financial flexibility coming out of expansion draft and the price will be “extremely high” to get them to take contracts
Not great news for #Flyers re: Jake/JvR
— Dan Silver (@dsilver88) July 15, 2021
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1416018251910352898?s=20
Via Jeff Marek of Sportsnet, The Seattle Kraken reported asking price for NOT taking a specific unprotected player is a 1st and 3rd round pick (31 Thoughts Podcast- 20:40).
Would Chuck pay a 1st and 3rd in exchange for the Kraken to select Jakub Voracek? Well, I hope not. I mean, DEFINITELY NOT.
However, I wouldn’t be opposed for Chuck to offer that type of compensation for a player like, say…Vladimir Tarasenko? Ah ha! Jackpot! Let’s take a look at the top players who were left unprotected by their NHL franchise for the NHL Expansion Draft and evaluate whether the Flyers should trade compensation to Seattle for them to take that player and trade that player to the Flyers:
F Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis Blues)
Jeremy Rutherford: “Vladimir Tarasenko has given the #StlBlues a list of at least 10 clubs to which he can be traded, we think we know a majority: #NYR, #Isles, #VegasBorn, #NHLBruins, and #AnytimeAnywhere we reported previously, add #GoBolts, #ALLCAPS, #FlaPanthers to that list”
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) July 14, 2021
Tarasenko being left unprotected isn’t a complete shocker… I guess #SeaKraken could take but trade is still the most probable outcome I’m told. One interesting name on his trade list? The #Flyers… they’ve been looking into it. So far no traction but could it be revisited?
— NRD (@NHLRumorsDaily) July 18, 2021
To add more context… I’d be quite surprised if Seattle takes Tarasenko for themselves… they’d love to pick up a few more assets as a middle man before sending him to his final destination.
— NRD (@NHLRumorsDaily) July 18, 2021
The Flyers should already have Tarasenko on their radar as they are listed as one of ten teams that Tarasenko would accept a trade to. Tarasenko is 29 years old, has 2 year left on his contract at $7.5 million AAV. Tarasenko has played 34 games in the past two seasons with 3 surgeries on his shoulder. Before the two injury-riddled seasons, Tarasenko had five consecutive seasons of 33, 33, 39, 40, and 37 goals. For some reason, I think the Flyers will be HIGHLY involved in a move for Tarasenko.
G Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens)
Oh, boy. The Carter Hart and Carey Price tandem would be a dream. It is heavily documented that Hart grew up idolizing Carey Price and would be a poetic ending to a Hall of Fame career for Carey Price if the Flyers somehow get in contention for a cup (long shot but we’ll see after this off-season). In the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the 33-year old Price led the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final while posting a .924 save percentage and a 2.28 Goals Against Average.
However, I do not think Seattle will select Price due to his $10.5 million AAV with 5 years left. For the same reason, the Flyers will almost definitely not make a move for him. Fun to dream about, though. The reason the Canadiens are leaving Price unprotected is two-fold. They want to protect goaltender Jake Allen and they think it is highly unlikely Seattle selects Price with his $10.5 million AAV.
G Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings)
For the same reason the Flyers won’t make an offer to Seattle to take Price, they won’t make an offer to Seattle to take Jonathan Quick. Quick has been a shell of himself in recent years. He’s 35 years old with 2 years left at $5.8 million AAV and he posted a .898 Save Percentage and a 2.86 Goals Against Average (slightly better than Brian Elliot). Probably not the best to pursue Quick at those numbers.
D Mark Giordano (Calgary Flames)
Giordano intrigues me and can serve as an buffer for a 2nd pairing defenseman next to Travis Sanheim. Giordano won a Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 2019 at the age of 35. Last season, at age 37, Giordano was still able to anchor the Flames blueline while averaging nearly 23 minutes TOI per game. Giordano plays in all scenarios but if the Flyers were to acquire him, his time on the PP would be limited. Giordano has 1 year left at $6.75 million, so that number, again, could deter the Flyers from making a Giordano move.
F Brandon Tanev (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Oh boy, what I would do to have Brandon Tanev on the Philadelphia Flyers’ 3rd or 4th line. Perhaps the most high energy forward in the league, Tanev is a terrific two-way player who can contribute high pressure on the forecheck. Tanev is also documented as a strong penalty killer. If the Flyers could still him from the Pittsburgh Penguins through the Seattle Kraken, I don’t think too many things could make me happier. Tanev, 29 years old, has 4 more years left at $3.5 million AAV. Tanev had 7 goals and 16 points in 32 games last season and was one of the league leaders in hits with 139.d
D Kevin Shattenkirk (Anaheim Ducks)
Another veteran defenseman on a relatively good deal to potentially round out the Flyers top 4 defensive core. Shattenkirk, 32 years old, put up 2 goals and 13 assists last season from the blue line. He is however, a more responsible defenseman than he was earlier in his career, contributing on Anaheim’s PK unit. Shattenkirk has 2 years left at $3.9 million AAV.
D Vince Dunn (St. Louis Blues)
If Chuck Fletcher can pull off this move, it would be another impressive addition for the blueline. Dunn is 24 years old and is scheduled to be an RFA this off-season. Last season, Dunn had 6 goals and 20 points in 40 Games for the St. Louis Blues. If the Flyers were to trade for Dunn, they would have his exclusive negotiating rights and can match any offer he would sign with another team. Dunn was a part of the St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup Championship team in 2019.
Additionally, while the Flyers can make moves to improve, sooner or later they need to shed salary. As it stands, the Flyers have left forwards Jakub Voracek ($8.25 million AAV) and James Van Riemsdyk ($7 million AAV) exposed in the NHL entry Draft along with defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere ($4.5 million AAV).
Names like Ryan Johansen (NSH) $8 mil AAV, Matt Duchene (NSH) $8 mil AAV, PK Subban (NJD)$9 mil AAV, Erik Johnson (COL) $6 mil AAV, Jeff Skinner (BUF) $9 mil AAV, and Carey Price (MTL) $10.5 mil AAV have been left unprotected by their respective teams.
What does this mean?
It means, as I have said before, that if Seattle takes one or two expensive contracts they might not be enticed to take another because they need to be under the salary cap at the conclusion of their selection of 30 players.
This could be the difference between Seattle selecting Jakub Voracek, James Van Riemsdyk and Shayne Gostisbehere, versus them taking Justin Braun.
Other names left unprotected:
D Shea Weber (MTL) (Reason: out for all of next season and could retire), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL) (UFA), F Ryan Getzlaf (ANA) (UFA), F Max Domi (CBJ) (Fellow diabetic gang RISE UP), F Alex Kerfoot (TOR), F Jonathan Drouin (MTL), F Jason Zucker (PIT), F Taylor Hall (BOS) (UFA), F Jared McCann (TOR), F Adam Henrique (ANA), F Ryan Johansen (NSH), F Matt Duchene (NSH), F Carl Hagelin (WSH), F Ondrej Palat (TB), F Alex Killorn (TB), F Yanni Gourde (TB), F Tyler Johnson (TB), F Jeff Skinner (BUF), G Ben Bishop (DAL), D PK Subban (NJD), F Andreas Johnsson (NJD), D Will Butcher (NJD), F Jordan Eberle (NYI), F Nino Niederreiter, F Tyler Pitlick (ARI), D Nikita Zadorov (CHI), Brandon Saad (COL) (UFA), F Phil Danault (MTL) (UFA), Kieffer Bellows (NYI), D Cal Foote (TB).
Disclaimer: selecting a UFA does not guarantee anything except for exclusive negotiating rights for a window of time. Expect SEA to avoid UFA’s on the list.
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