PHILADELPHIA, – The Philadelphia Flyers went into the Quinn Hughes trade winds hopeful but realistic. The Vancouver Canucks in the end traded with the Minnesota Wild for a second line center, a young promising defenseman that the Flyers could have drafted (but that’s another story), a first round pick that will most likely be in the bottom half of the first round in June, and a promising young forward who is only 46 games into his NHL career.
Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes players look to the blue line for an upcoming shot.
The Flyers could have matched Minnesota’s offer but truth be told the Wild offered the better deal. Philadelphia did not have a center that Vancouver wanted. Even the
Flyers are trying to upgrade the center position. Could the Canucks have taken a chance on either Jeff Luchanko or Jack Nesbitt? They could have but Marco Rossi has at least some form of a resume with 114 points in 202 games played.
A promising young defenseman like Zeev Buium? Not in the Flyers system they don’t. Philly has also made it a point for bigger defenseman, not smaller. The reason the Flyers passed on Buium was in part because they already had Emil Andrea at 5’ 9” tall.
The Flyers could have parted with their first round pick this year but if their early start turns out to be a fluke, they will end up with a lottery pick. That said, they have their own pick next year, along with the first found pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both picks could go into the lottery or both teams make that playoffs and be no better that Minnesota’s pick.
Overall Vancouver ended up with the better haul than they would have from Philadelphia. Don’t forget, there is no guarantee that Hughes signs an extension with Minnesota so the Flyers could get another crack at him in free agency or by next year’s trade deadline. Philly is still getting Rasmus Ristolainen back from injury before the end of the year. That should help the Flyers chances for a playoff spot. If not, look for at least one trade coming from south Philadelphia by the trade deadline.
Rumors have already started flying regarding several Flyers players. The Flyers have already made it a point that Tyson Foerster, Matvei Michkov, and Porter Martone are off limits. A playoff run isn’t out of the question. Heading into Saturday’s games the Flyers are only 4 points from Carolina and Washington for best record in the Eastern Conference. Every team below them in the Wild Card race have already play more games than Philly.
It’s been a while since Flyers hockey has excited people in the Delaware valley. Maybe it’s about time the Flyers game them something to get excited about.
Brian Jennings covers the Philadelphia Flyers for prohockeynews.com and can be found on twitter at @Flyersfan22.
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