Chuck Fletchers addresses plans for No. 5 draft pick, free agency, and provides updates on Ryan Ellis, Sean Couturier, and Joel Farabee

In their private meeting Wednesday morning, members of the Flyers’ front office pondered when the last time was when a team traded away a top-five draft pick during the NHL draft.

Next Thursday, the Flyers will be selecting No. 5 in the draft. It is their highest pick since they selected Nolan Patrick with the second overall pick in the 2017 draft. As they’ve evaluated their options, general manager Chuck Fletcher has fielded calls from other teams asking if he would contemplate trading the pick away. He responds: “sure.”

“You always say ‘sure,’” Fletcher said Wednesday at the team’s training facility in Voorhees. “I don’t know if you always mean it. [You] want to hear what they have to say. That’s the fun part of it for us, at least, exploring what may be there.

“But history tells you that usually you make the pick.”

» READ MORE: Cutter Gauthier’s size, versatility and skill could make him a fit for Flyers at No. 5

To Fletcher’s point, the last time a team traded a top-five pick in the lead-up to the draft was 2008, when the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired the No. 5 pick from the New York Islanders to select Luke Schenn, who later became a Flyer. For Fletcher to follow suit and trade away No. 5, he said he would have to be offered a very special player — one who could help the Flyers win now but is young enough to help them win for years to come.

There’s a balance to figuring out what you’re getting and what you’re giving up and how it fits under the salary cap, as well as the emotional side of trading away a pick the scouting staff has prepared all year to make, Fletcher said. Besides, top-10 draft picks still are the best way to acquire high-end talent, he added.

The likelihood that the Flyers move up is even slimmer.

However, it’s fair to say this is one of the most unpredictable drafts, assistant general manager Brent Flahr said. Generally, there’s a consensus on who the top picks are, but as he has talked to his colleagues from other teams, he has heard a wide range of opinions on who the best prospects are, even when it comes to the No. 1 pick.

The Flyers also are “at the whim” of the teams who go before them, Flahr said. However, they have a group of players they’re hoping will be around when their turn comes. He and Fletcher neglected to say who, but they said they’re looking for the best overall player — other than a goalie.

“We could use everything,” Fletcher said. “A center, a wing, a defenseman.”

The Flyers could look to trade for a second-round pick as well, since they don’t currently have one after last summer’s Shayne Gostisbehere trade. However, Fletcher said their priority is making the right pick in the first round.

Joel Farabee’s recent disk replacement surgery was the result of a “pinch” in his neck he felt two weeks ago while working out.

“I didn’t even know what to say,” Fletcher said. “Extremely unfortunate and unlucky for him. But we moved as quickly as possible once we knew he had issues.”

Fletcher isn’t sure if Farabee will be ready by training camp, and he said that’s not really what he’s concerned about. He’s focused on making sure Farabee gets well. Farabee, his family, and the Flyers draw hope from other players in the league who have recently undergone the same operation, such as Jack Eichel, and made full recoveries.

The Flyers also aren’t certain whether Ryan Ellis will be ready by training camp in September. He continues to rehab his ”multilayered” injury, and Fletcher said he’s on track with his progress. The GM anticipates he’ll know whether they’ll get Ellis back next season before games start, but things still are uncertain, and providing any timeline would be premature. Ellis is not skating yet and has the “bulk of rehab ahead of him.”

In more positive news, Fletcher said Sean Couturier (back) and Kevin Hayes (groin area) are feeling good and looking like they will be healthy for training camp.

While salary-cap constraints will impact the Flyers’ offseason, Fletcher said they’re not feeling the pressure as much as some cap-strung teams in the league. However, they’re going to have to “get creative” if they want to be aggressive in free agency.

So far, the Flyers have re-signed goalie Felix Sandström to a two-year, two-way/one-way contract worth an average annual value of $775,000. (In Year 2 of the two-way/one-way deal, Sandström will be guaranteed his NHL salary whether he is playing in the league or not.) They also signed highly rated Russian goalie Ivan Fedotov to an entry-level contract.

Conversations with other pending restricted free agents, like Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett, have just started, Fletcher said. All restricted free agents’ contracts will expire on July 12.

While new coach John Tortorella will not have any impact on the draft, Fletcher said he will be consulted more in free agency and trades for professional players.

The Flyers coaching staff has had its first two pieces solidified since Tortorella took the reins.

Fletcher announced Wednesday that goalie coach Kim Dillabaugh and assistant coach Darryl Williams, who directed the penalty kill and worked as the “eye in the sky,’ will return next season.

“They’re good at what they do,” Fletcher said. “They’re good people. They’re good coaches.”

» READ MORE: Is John Tortorella a good fit for the Flyers? Well, that’s complicated

Dillabaugh will continue to have a huge role in deciding what the Flyers’ goaltending situation will look like next season with Carter Hart, Fedotov, and Sandström. Fletcher also did not rule out Martin Jones returning but said they will not bring in any goalies without first consulting Dillabaugh.

Meanwhile, Tortorella is still in the process of assessing candidates for his “top two” assistant roles, Fletcher said. Tortorella told The Inquirer that he is looking for someone to run the power play. He also wants coaches whose personalities complement his.

“I think I’ll be enough, my personality will be enough of that for them,” Tortorella said. “There has to be a yin and yang ... I need other people around me that’s going to check that. And check me and say, ‘Torts. Enough. Let me have them. OK, enough. I’m sick of hearing you with them. Let me have them.’”