Flyers fail to trade pending UFA James van Riemsdyk before deadline
The Flyers reportedly were nearing a deal with Detroit before it collapsed late.
James van Riemsdyk, the Flyers’ biggest and most valuable short-term rental chip at the trade deadline, isn’t going anywhere.
General manager Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers did not move the 33-year-old veteran winger by the 3 p.m. deadline, so he will finish out the remainder of his contract in Philadelphia until he becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
SportsNet reported less than an hour before the deadline that van Riemsdyk was headed to the Detroit Red Wings, but a source told The Inquirer that the deal wasn’t wasn’t finalized. Ultimately, it fell through.
This season, van Riemsdyk has been a fixture in the Flyers’ top six and at the net front on the power play. He ranks ninth on the team in scoring with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 41 games. But lately, van Riemsdyk’s scoring has gone cold — he has registered only a goal and an assist in his last 12 games. He also missed 20 games from Oct. 27-Dec. 5 due to an injury to his left index finger that required surgery.
Van Riemsdyk, who hails from Middletown, New Jersey, has played 507 games in a Flyers uniform. Former Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren selected van Riemsdyk with the No. 2 pick of the 2007 draft. After two years at the University of New Hampshire, he played three seasons for the Flyers from 2009-2012, collecting 47 goals and 52 assists in 196 games.
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Then, on June 23, 2012, van Riemsdyk was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenseman Luke Schenn. He spent six seasons with the Maple Leafs, posting a single-season career-high in goals (36) during the 2017-18 campaign. Van Riemsdyk returned to the Flyers as a free agent on a five-year, $35 million deal on July 1, 2018.
Over the last five seasons, van Riemsdyk has played 311 games, posting 96 goals and 96 assists. In the 2020-21 season, van Riemsdyk ranked first on the team in points (43), third in goals (17) and third in assists (26). Last season, he led the team in goals with 24.
Overall, van Riemsdyk ranks 24th in franchise goals (143), 22nd in power-play goals (42), 34th in scoring (291 points), and 36th in games played (507) in eight seasons with the Flyers. He played his 900th career game this season on Jan. 9 against the Buffalo Sabres.
While Fletcher did not move van Riemsdyk, he made three other trades leading up to the deadline. Late Sunday night, he traded 2017 second-round pick Isaac Ratcliffe (No. 35 overall) to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations. Ratcliffe, 24, played 10 games for the Flyers last season (one goal, three assists).
On Friday afternoon, he traded winger Zack MacEwen to the Los Angeles Kings in change for winger Brendan Lemieux and a 2024 fifth-round pick. He also traded center Patrick Brown to the Ottawa Senators for a 2023 sixth-round pick.