Flyers play broker in Noah Hanifan trade, receive fifth-round pick in process

In a trade that sent Flames defenseman Hanifin to the Golden Knights on Wednesday night, the Flyers retained 25% of his $4.95 million salary ($1.2375 million).

Noah Hanifan is headed to Vegas thanks to an assist from the Flyers.Read moreSarah Stier / Getty Images

by Jackie Spiegel

Published March 7, 2024, 1:11 a.m. ET

A busy Wednesday for the Flyers was capped with a late-night deal.

After trading Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche and signing Nick Seeler to a four-year extension, the Flyers played broker for the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights in a separate trade.

The Flames sent defenseman Noah Hanifin south of the border to the Golden Knights for a conditional first-round pick in 2025, defenseman Daniil Miromanov, and a conditional third-round pick.

As the middleman, the Flyers retained 25% of Hanifin’s $4.95 million salary ($1.2375 million of dead cap space) and received a fifth-round pick from the Golden Knights in this year’s draft for their troubles. With Hanifan an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, his money will come off the books this summer. The team also sent Mikhail Vorobyev’s rights to Vegas.

Drafted in the fourth round (No. 104) in 2015, Vorobyev was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by then-Flyers GM Ron Hextall two years later. He suited up for 35 games with the Flyers and registered five points (two goals, three assists) across the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. His stint in North America also included 145 games with Lehigh Valley from 2017-20, where he collected 83 points (28 goals, 55 assists).

The Russian center left for the Kontinental Hockey League when his NHL contract expired in 2020. He was a restricted free agent at the time, which is why the Flyers retained his rights, and he was placed on the team’s reserved list. Vegas now has until June 30 to sign Vorobyev, as he turned 27 in January. If they do not sign him, he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Vorobyev signed a three-year contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa in 2020 and was traded SKA Saint Petersburg after one season. In 2022, he faced charges of bribery related to his trying to evade Russian military service. He pleaded guilty, and avoided a 12-year jail sentence and instead reportedly was fined 2 million rubles (about $33,000).

This season, he has 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 61 regular-season games for SKA Saint Petersburg. The Russian squad currently is taking on Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the conference quarterfinals of the Gagarin Cup, the KHL’s Stanley Cup; Vorobyev has a goal and two assists in the first three games.