Assessing the Flyers’ potential trade chips ahead of Friday’s deadline

As the March 3, 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline rapidly approaches, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher will be working the phones. Last year, Fletcher traded three players in the final years of their contracts, which included shipping longtime captain Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers in exchange for draft picks and young winger Owen Tippett. In total, Fletcher amassed four draft picks at the deadline last season.

This year, the Flyers have three rental candidates heading into the deadline. But will Fletcher look to make a bigger move involving a high-profile player with term remaining that could start to shape the long-term direction of the team?

» READ MORE: Mailbag: How will the scuffling Flyers approach the trade deadline?

Let’s take a look at the Flyers’ potential trade chips heading into the deadline, with added perspective from former Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Brian Lawton:

Age: 33

This season’s stats: 9 goals, 14 assists in 40 games

Career stats: 297 goals, 288 assists in 919 games

Cap hit: $7 million

2023-24 contract status: Unrestricted free agent (UFA)

Van Riemsdyk is one of the Flyers’ most obvious trade candidates heading into the deadline. He is set to become a UFA in the offseason, making him a potential short-term rental for a contending team in search of scoring. Van Riemsdyk has been a consistent points producer throughout his career and his .59 points-per-game clip this season is .05 points shy of his career average. He is a power-play, net-front specialist, having scored 87 career goals on the man advantage.

But if the Flyers want to move van Riemsdyk, it might take a little bit of deal-sweetening. Van Riemsdyk comes with a hefty cap hit, and Lawton asserts that the Flyers will need to retain the maximum 50% of his remaining salary in order to draw interest. Ultimately, van Riemsdyk could be the consolation prize for the teams that fall out of the running for the “bigger fish” wingers, including Timo Meier of the San Jose Sharks or Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks. Lawton proposed that Fletcher ought to be satisfied with a second-round pick or a legitimate prospect in exchange for van Riemsdyk.

Age: 29

This season’s stats: 3 goals,7 assists, plus-2 rating, 14 minutes, 35 seconds average time on ice (ATOI) in 58 games

Career stats: 6 goals, 19 assists, minus-3 rating, 13:20 ATOI in 204 games

Cap hit: $775,000

2023-24 contract status: One year, $775,000

After taking the 2020-21 season away from hockey entirely, Seeler has carved out a role for himself under Tortorella as a third-pairing defenseman. He has garnered praise from Tortorella for his hard-nosed approach. Seeler ranks third on the team in blocks (109) and second among Flyers defensemen in hits (96). Seeler also has four fights this season and is not afraid to drop the gloves when required. After rotating in and out of the lineup last season (43 games), Seeler has played 58 of a possible 61 games. The defenseman has also become an analytics darling, particularly in terms of defensive metrics. Seeler ranks third among all NHL defensemen in defensive impact above replacement (xDef), and in the top 20 in xWAR (expected wins above replacement), according to Evolving Hockey.

» READ MORE: The Flyers have mismanaged the 2022-23 season, but they can still get the trade deadline right

Lawton said that the Flyers could potentially get a mid-to-late-round pick in exchange for Seeler, noting that a potential trade partner may have some familiarity with Seeler’s character beyond a surface-level impression.

“His value is higher with Chuck [Fletcher] and the Flyers because they know what a great person he is and what a great addition he is to the locker room, aside from his skills being better than maybe the market realized,” Lawton said.

Age: 36

This season’s stats: 1 assist, minus-1, 15:34 ATOI in 39 games

Career stats: 34 goals, 164 assists, plus-23, 19:25 ATOI in 830 games

Cap hit: $1 million

2023-24 contract status: UFA

At last year’s trade deadline, the Flyers managed to flip Braun to the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick. But last season, Braun had a more pronounced role. He even chipped in on the top pairing alongside Ivan Provorov when Ryan Ellis exited the lineup early in the season due to injury. This year, Braun has been a healthy scratch more frequently, limiting him to 39 games. His 15:34 ATOI is more than a four-minute decrease from his average last season.

Lawton views Braun and Seeler similarly from the standpoint that a team will have to be familiar with Braun’s character as a veteran leader before making the decision to trade for him. As a depth player, the Flyers shouldn’t expect to get a big return for him beyond a late-round pick and he’s likely to be a late thought at the deadline.

Age: 30

This season’s stats: 2 goals, 5 assists in 42 games

Career stats: 8 goals, 11 assists in 119 games

Cap hit: $750,000

2023-24 contract status: UFA

Brown was a waiver claim last season who has provided the Flyers with some depth up the middle, primarily playing in a checking role on the fourth line. He has also played important penalty-kill minutes, and his average of 11:32 of ice time this season is a career-high. Like Braun, Brown is a depth player and is likely to command a similar return at the deadline. Brown’s greatest value might be as a face-off man, winning 54% of his draws this season and 57% for his career.

Beyond moving the rentals and a low-commitment, moderate-reward player in Seeler, Fletcher has the opportunity to start shaping the roster as Tortorella sees fit by trading away players with more term that don’t fit his long-term vision. That could either be in exchange for future assets or for other players that provide the team with a different look.

» READ MORE: Should the Flyers trade Ivan Provorov? Here’s what a potential deal could look like.

Who could be on the table? Sportsnet reported in January that the Flyers were open to conversations about trading 26-year-old defenseman Provorov, who is on the books for the next two seasons with a $6.75 million annual cap hit. The Fourth Period also reported in January that the Flyers were willing to move 30-year-old forward Kevin Hayes, but a potential suitor would have to be willing to take on the remaining three years on his contract at a $7.14 million annual cap hit.

Provorov might be an intriguing option for a team searching for a two-way defenseman, who blocks shots, can move the puck, and plays with a physical edge. While not a No. 1, Provorov would slot in on a second pair on most teams and still has room to grow given his age and skill set. Hayes, who was an All-Star, is having a career season with 48 points in 60 games but has not always seen eye-to-eye with Tortorella. The veteran was scratched for a game earlier this season and has tellingly been moved from center to winger by his first-year coach. The Flyers would likely have to eat some of the remaining salary to sweeten the pot in a potential deal involving either Provorov or Hayes.

Lawton said that some teams this year looking to change their makeup aren’t willing to do so with short-term rentals, leading him to believe that there will be more player-for-player “hockey trades.”

“I think that if you’ve got to go for those prime-time players and you’re going to get forced into paying these exorbitant prices, your way to counterbalance that is to grab an extra piece or two,” Lawton said. “It’s just hard to do because you’re limited by what a team has available.”