As trade deadline arrives, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher expected to be in sell mode
The Flyers, their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, are expected to be sellers at Monday's trade deadline.
Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher figures to be in sell mode after his team blew a late lead Sunday and dropped a 5-3 decision to the NHL’s worst team, Buffalo.
The NHL’s trade deadline is Monday at 3 p.m.
The Flyers need to get younger and faster, and a top-pairing defender is on their wish list. Fletcher figures to try to fill most of those needs after the season, but maybe he can get a head start
The Flyers have 15 games left, and they were four points behind Boston for the last playoff spot entering the Bruins’ home game with Washington on Sunday night. After that game, Boston will have two games in hand on the Flyers.
» READ MORE: Flyers collapse in closing minutes and are stunned by Buffalo, 5-3, as their playoff hopes are dimmed
Will Fletcher go outside the box and be a buyer? Or perhaps make a deal with the future in mind?
The clock is ticking.
“The trade deadline. I’ve been in a lot of them,” said captain Claude Giroux, who has a no-movement clause. “The unknown [is] not knowing who is going to be here tomorrow or what the future has for us. It’s out of our control and it’s not on us to make those decisions.”
At the trade deadline a year ago, the Flyers improved their depth at forward and on the penalty kill by acquiring center/winger Derek Grant and center Nate Thompson in separate deals, adding two veterans with big bodies. They acquired Grant for a fourth-round draft pick and minor-league forward Kyle Criscuolo, and added Thompson for a fifth-rounder.
Among the players who could be moved: wingers Taylor Hall and Mike Hoffman; defensemen Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Jamie Oleksiak, and Alex Goligoski; and goalies Jonathan Bernier, David Rittich, and Elvis Merzlikins. (UPDATE: On Monday morning, Hall was dealt to Boston, and Rittich was traded to Toronto late Sunday night.)
Flyers forwards Scott Laughton and Michael Raffl have been mentioned among the players who could be dealt. Raffl sat out Sunday’s game.
The Flyers looked like buyers until they started fading last month. Since March started, they have just eight wins in 23 games (8-12-3).
Remembering Ed Snider
Sunday marked the fifth anniversary of the passing of Ed Snider, the Flyers’ co-founder.
“He’s Mr. Flyer,” Giroux said. “I was talking to some of the guys that have been here for a while and we just thought it was crazy how it’s been five years already. We miss him and we know he’s watching, and for us to lose this game tonight, it’s not fun.”
Breakaways
The Flyers are now 9-9-3 at home, 10-7-3 on the road. ... Shayne Gostisbehere and Joel Farabee each had a goal and an assist in Sunday’s loss, and Robert Hagg had six hits. Gostisbehere has seven goals since Feb. 24, the second-most in the league among defensemen in that span. ... In their three losses to Buffalo (Buffalo!), the Flyers allowed six goals twice and five goals. ... Samuel Morin was replaced by Phil Myers (assist, plus-1, 3 blocks) on the third pairing with Gostisbehere. ... Travis Sanheim was minus-3.