With playoffs a long shot, what is the Flyers’ Trade Deadline plan?

Credit: Scott Laughton (© Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports)

Now that the calendar has flipped to 2025 and we’ve passed the halfway point of the NHL regular season, teams are beginning to have a better idea of what they are. There are the clear buyers and sellers shaping up while some still desperately cling to relevance before waving the white flag.

In the case of the Philadelphia Flyers, there seems to be a growing acceptance as to where the team is at. Yes, Monday night’s win over the Florida Panthers for a second consecutive victory has gotten the Flyers out of the basement of the Metropolitan division – though it is important to note that they have played two more games than both the New York Islanders and New York Rangers – and just three points back of a playoff spot. But with four teams between them and the second Wildcard seed Columbus Blue Jackets as of Tuesday morning, it sounds like there is at least some sort of an acceptance that the Flyers will miss playoffs again.

So if that’s the case, where does that leave things on the trade front?

We’ve heard for a while that general manager Daniel Briere is actively working the phone lines and keeping tabs on moves that can improve his team. Is that true? Probably, but ultimately there has been no tangible move made by the Flyers GM to significantly shake up his roster. Does the Flyers falling out of a playoff spot directly impact this? I can’t say that it will change anything imminently, but I don’t think the Flyers would be thrilled to see the trade deadline come and go and be on the outside looking in on all the action – especially if the playoffs are going to not be part of the season.

In terms of who could be on the block from the Flyers’ roster, there aren’t any obvious “you have to trade that guy” candidates. Why? Because, with the exception of veteran defenseman Erik Johnson, there are no pending UFAs on the Flyers’ roster. Last season at this time, we had the Nick Seeler and Sean Walker sweepstakes to keep track of. The Flyers ultimately re-signed the former and traded the latter, but it doesn’t change the fact that both players occupied most of the trade oxygen pertaining to the Flyers for the months leading up to the trade deadline.

Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen’s name has been the most common one to come up in trade discussions; he currently finds himself 10th on Frank Seravalli’s Trade Targets board on Daily Faceoff.

Ristolainen, 30, has been at the center of trade discussions going back to last season before his untimely injury. He has performed remarkably (relatively speaking) going back to the beginning of last season and has completely rebuilt his once erratic game under head coach John Tortorella and, more specifically, associate coach Brad Shaw.

While Ristolainen’s play has gotten unquestionably better over the last 15 months or so, the contract is always something that seems to come up as a hurdle to make a deal far less probable than one would think. At three years left with an AAV of $5.1 million, teams still seem hesitant to fully absorb the Finnish blueliner’s full salary. Thing is, in the eyes of the Flyers, Ristolainen’s play is more than worthy of a $5.1 million AAV – and they’re probably right. But even if Ristolainen’s play has, more or less, lived up to his cap dollar, it doesn’t, at least for the time being, appear enough to move the needle for teams to take on the dollars at full value. This is to say nothing of the Flyers’ desired asking price, which I’m told continues to start with a first-round selection.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, trading Ristolainen would be a major blow to the Flyers’ defense. He’s effectively the club’s No. 3 rearguard on the depth chart, so the Flyers’ blueline would be hit in a major way should Ristolainen be traded. His style of play and size would be significantly missed, to say nothing of the hole his absence would leave on the second pair. Again, I’ll reiterate that the Flyers are prepared to move Ristolainen if their price is met, but they don’t appear to be overly flexible on it. And with two more years remaining on Ristolainen’s contract, they’re in no rush to do so, either.

That brings us to Scott Laughton, who has been tied to trade rumors back to when Chuck Fletcher was the GM and signed him to a five-year contract extension in 2021. Laughton, 30, is the exact type of a heart and soul, depth player any playoff team would be salivating at adding ahead of the playoffs. Much like Ristolainen, the Flyers have the price set very high on Laughton and, while they are prepared to move him for the right price (starting with a first-round selection), I fear they won’t get their asking price.

Speaking with a Western Conference executive about Laughton, a prospect and a later pick may seem more reasonable; that would surely not be the return the Flyers are looking for. For a third-line center, in the Flyers’ eyes, they don’t seem prepared to budge off their asking price. Laughton has a year remaining on his deal at a $3 million AAV; much like with Ristolainen, they don’t absolutely have to trade him this year.

Joel Farabee finds himself sixth on Seravalli’s Trade Targets board and does seem like the ideal candidate for a “hockey” trade. His six-goal, 14-point season has been very disappointing to date and could be in line for a new home. His three years beyond this at a $5 million AAV could prove problematic to move in season, but there is a lot to like about Farabee’s game. I do wonder about the Minnesota Wild when it comes to the 24 year old. I have heard Minny has liked him in the past, but Farabee’s poor season along with his AAV have priced his contract out of them being an option.

Morgan Frost’s name has been out there for quite some time, but I don’t think there is much traction on teams knocking down the door for his services. Frost, though having picked it up recently, as he so often does mid-season, has struggled to lock down a niche role in the Flyers’ top six. On pace for just 40ish points despite getting multiple cracks to play with Matvei Michkov and on the power play, it has seemed like a final nail-in-the-coffin season for Frost. As a pending RFA, one must wonder about his long term future with the club. I do think there are teams who would take on his services for a low cost, but would the Flyers be simply best served to just hang on to him (for this season) if the return is negligible? Given the team’s putrid center depth, would there be a point to moving on from Frost just for the sake of it?

In terms of additions, I fully believe the Flyers would love to add a center; much like most other teams, especially those vying for the playoffs, do as well. They made a call to the Buffalo Sabres on Dylan Cozens and weren’t met with a receptive answer from GM Kevyn Adams. I think there was at least a discussion regarding Wild center Marco Rossi, but I wonder if the player’s size and looming next contract – could it be a double digit AAV? – scare the Flyers. Will he be the same type of player away from Kirill Kaprizov? Elias Petterson’s track record and monstrous contract sound to be too much of a risk for the Flyers to take a stab at (at least in-season). Either way, the Vancouver Canucks sound like they want more of a “talent for talent” return, something the Flyers have no way of staying competitive with.

As of now, there doesn’t seem to be much cooking with the Flyers, but I don’t think they intend to sit on their hands through the deadline. They need to be calculated and careful with what move they make and keep their eyes on the future, but I don’t get the sense that standing fully pat is the ideal route. Adding a center is optimal – easier said than done, but it’s on their wish list. They’ll gladly move on from veterans on the roster, but not for pennies on the dollar. The Flyers want to be active, but the moves need to be the right ones in order to get the ball rolling.

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With playoffs a long shot, what is the Flyers’ Trade Deadline plan?

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