How – and when – will the Flyers find help at center?

Credit: Danny Briere (© Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports)

Former Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin once said, “This isn’t PlayStation.” It was in response to the Canadiens’ inability to add a top-line – or even top-six – center to a team that desperately needed one. While the comment was said somewhat tongue and cheek, there was validity to it.

Fast forward close to a decade and shift south of the border, and Philadelphia Flyers GM Daniel Briere may be apt to respond in a similar fashion if pressed by the local media like Bergevin was. It has been several years now that the Flyers have been looking to bolster their center position; it predates Briere and goes back to Chuck Fletcher’s time as GM. It’s one of the reasons the Flyers’ took centers with three of their first four selections in the NHL Draft this past summer – it’s easier to groom your own than go hunting outside your organization.

Though the trade market is slim for available pivots – and those capable of playing in the top-six, as finding centers who can play lower in the lineup are available – it has not been for a lack of trying. As Anthony San Filippo of onpattison.com wrote on Sunday, Briere and the Flyers have been doing their due diligence on what is out there in the way of available center ice options.

As San Filippo alluded to, the Flyers and the Minnesota Wild did have a conversation regarding a forwards swap. It would be safe to assume that, given the lack of depth down the middle on both sides, that chatter was, perhaps, concentrated on centermen. Ultimately there wasn’t a fit on either side, and talks were shelved (for the time being, at least).

The Wild have been rolling early in the season (second in the Central division with 30 points) and are not in a rush to shake up their mix. They are also in a precarious salary cap situation (less than $500,000 currently, just under $1.6 million projected for the trade deadline, per Puckpedia) and would likely need to accrue more space before making a major trade. The Wild are not a deep team down the middle, so if, hypothetically, they were to move a center, I’d imagine that they’d need one coming back to soften the blow.

As Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli mentioned on DFO Live on Monday, Ottawa Senators center Josh Norris is available. Reading the tea leaves, I don’t think Norris is a player the Flyers have a ton of interest in. Between the contract (signed until 2030 at a $7.95 million AAV) and the injury history, there are too many concerns (that other teams share) with Norris to take the contract on. This isn’t to say the Flyers outright dislike the player, but taking on a contract like that with the injury history attached to it is not a risk they can afford. Having Sean Couturier locked in at a similar dollar value ($7.75 million AAV) with substantial injury history, Norris would be another non-1C with similar negatives attached to him for the Flyers.

Although Norris isn’t a guy the Flyers have interested in, I do believe they are intrigued by other young centermen with the Senators: Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto.

Greig is a name I believe the Flyers have taken swings on more than once, even going back to Fletcher’s time as GM. I was told Sunday that the Flyers offered Scott Laughton for Greig straight up leading up to the 2021 NHL trade deadline. Much like the prior regime in Ottawa, the Senators don’t seem to have an appetite to move on from Greig. All this being said, I get the sense Laughton is a name the Senators, even with a new management group, like as a player.

As for Pinto, I believe the Flyers have checked in on him in the past but, much like with Greig, I don’t get the sense that GM Steve Staios is entertaining moving on from him. As Seravalli mentioned on DFO Live, the Senators may get to a point where they need to consider shaking up their forward group beyond Norris – but that’s not where they’re at at the moment. At this time, there is nothing in the works between the two sides, I’m told.

While the Flyers are doing their due diligence and exploring all options, adding a center is not obligatory for them between now and the NHL trade deadline in early March. As a rebuilding team, the Flyers are not in desperate need to bolster their roster imminently. If they have to wait for internal help to arrive as opposed to overpaying (both via trade or free agency) then so be it.

Holding three first- and three second round selections in the upcoming NHL Draft, the Flyers are in a good spot with their draft capital; I believe other teams have taken notice of it and will want said capital involved in any trade for a young center. The Flyers are not leaving anything off the table, but moving on from their six picks in the top two rounds is not their first choice to use as trade currency.

2018 first round pick Joel Farabee’s name is out there (and included in Seravalli’s Trade Targets board) and is someone I think the Flyers are open to moving. Farabee has not excelled under head coach John Tortorella and, according to more than one executive, has suffered from a lack of talent at the center ice position; one person thinks he will be a slam dunk top-six guy with the right pivot to play with.

Farabee, 24, has three years remaining on his contract that carries a $5 million AAV – something that can be seen as both a positive and a negative. One team I wonder about as a potential landing spot for Farabee is the New Jersey Devils, who certainly have the talent down the middle with Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes to complement him.

Another name out there, unsurprisingly, is 2017 first round selection Morgan Frost. Frost, 25, does not seem to have much value on the trade front but the Flyers have taken calls on him. As I wrote last week, the Flyers will not give him away and have not given up on him. If the Flyers look to use Frost in a trade to acquire a top six center, I imagine a high draft pick would have to be attached to it.

There is nothing imminent, but the Flyers are certainly keeping their ears to the ground for options down the middle.

Flyers interested in David Jiricek

The David Jiricek trade speculation is in full swing and it seems like a lot of teams are trying to get in on the action. One of the teams interested is the Flyers, who I’m told were very close to taking Jiricek in 2022 with the fifth overall pick; they ultimately selected Cutter Gauthier, who has since been traded.

I’m told the Flyers have kicked tires on Jiricek but have not had much traction in trade talks. I have no doubt that Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell has a plethora of teams interested and perhaps is not interested in what the Flyers have to offer. From what I’ve heard, the Flyers are open to moving off of any roster player not named Matvei Michkov in a deal for Jiricek. It doesn’t sound like prospects Oliver Bonk and Jett Luchanko are guys they are interested in moving off of. I’ve heard the Jackets are high on 2024 second round pick Charlie Elick, another right shot defender; maybe they’d rather add a forward if they have a theoretical in house replacement for Jiricek.

Jiricek, 20, is signed on his entry level contract until 2026. He was drafted sixth overall by Columbus in 2022.
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How – and when – will the Flyers find help at center?

Flyers interested in David Jiricek

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