Trade grades: Evaluating the Sean Walker trade as Flyers net first-rounder in return

After months of will they, won’t they, the Flyers finally traded Sean Walker.

The coveted defenseman and a 2026 fifth-round pick were sent to the Colorado Avalanche for a 2025 first-round pick (top 10 protected) and center Ryan Johansen, who was placed on waivers after the trade was completed.

Originally acquired by the Flyers in June from the Los Angeles Kings in a three-team trade that shipped Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Walker had a standout season after he was a cap casualty for L.A. and, for many pundits, a throw-in in the deal. Johansen, acquired from the Avalanche in June from the Nashville Predators, notched just 23 points in 63 games with Colorado.

» READ MORE: Flyers trade defenseman Sean Walker to Colorado Avalanche

Here’s what our experts Jackie Spiegel and Gustav Elvin think of the deal.

Props to Danny Brière.

Unlike some of his first-year counterparts — and some veterans — around the league, the Flyers general manager stuck to his guns and got what he wanted for Walker. Less than a week ago at Capital One Arena in Washington, Brière said that “nothing has changed” in regard to the Flyers’ trade deadline plans. He added that while it was great that his squad was in playoff position, and set to play meaningful games, the GM and his front office remained firmly focused on rebuilding for the future. And that he wanted a first-round pick for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Walker.

“It doesn’t change our asking price,” Brière said when asked about some of the other trades for defensemen not garnering a first-rounder. “ … If teams are not willing to meet our price, and what we feel is fair, you know, we’re a playoff team. We get to keep them and we get to make a run. That’s the way I see it.”

The Avalanche met their price.

Getting a first-rounder was the key to the deal for the Flyers and was a shrewd business move as the Avalanche needed a defenseman when they sent Bowen Byram to the Buffalo Sabres for forward Casey Mittelstadt. Brière was the guy who acquired Walker originally and the blueliner had a career year under coach John Tortorella.

In the end, the Flyers got the first-round pick they coveted for Walker. Not too shabby. And they could always re-sign Walker in the offseason. But to do so they took on Johansen and his contract, which becomes a head-scratcher considering his history with Tortorella and a career that has been a roller coaster.

For now, Johansen, 31, is expected to be assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Will the Flyers bury him and his $4 million-a-year contract through next season (Nashville retained 50% of the contract from their deal with Colorado) in the minors? Maybe. Could they buy him out at the end of this year? Sure. But he could also be a good backup if the Flyers do indeed trade Scott Laughton come Friday, as has been long rumored.

A big body at 6-foot-3, 218 pounds, Johansen, 31, is skilled in the faceoff circle and his 53.2% win rate this season would rank second on the Flyers behind Sean Couturier. Expected to be the Avs’ No. 2 center this season, he got power-play time and also killed some penalties but never achieved the level they needed him to be at — or the level he reached early in his career.

The talent is in there, though. Selected No. 4 overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010, his first two full NHL seasons included a 71-point campaign in 2014-15 that placed him 16th in the NHL. The following season he had 61 points in 80 games but that was split between Columbus and Nashville — Tortorella’s first in Ohio. The two didn’t see eye-to-eye and Johansen was traded midseason for Seth Jones. He had some good and bad seasons in Nashville before missing the final 27 games of 2022-23 after undergoing right leg surgery from a skate blade cut.

Maybe Tortorella can turn Johansen’s career around, much like he has done with Walker and Nick Seeler. Regardless of what happens, the Flyers can splurge on first-round picks in each of the next two seasons and Brière has shown he’s not to be taken lightly.

Grade: A-

» READ MORE: Friday’s trade deadline is a major early test for Danny Brière and the Flyers’ rebuild

While it had to be at least tempting for Brière to keep Walker given how well he and Seeler had jelled as a pairing, the GM was absolutely right to cash in on the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. The Flyers aren’t winning the Stanley Cup this year and flipping 29-year-old Walker for a first-round pick is great business for an organization that is still rebuilding while compiling draft picks and prospects.

Given Walker was more or less a throw-in for Los Angeles to shed salary in June’s three-team Ivan Provorov trade, entering the season the Flyers probably dreamed they could maybe recoup a fourth- or fifth-round pick for Walker at the deadline. Instead, his strong two-way play over 60-odd games elevated his value to a second-round pick, and by freeing the Avs from Ryan Johansen’s cap hit for this year and next, Brière and Co. were able to wriggle a first away from Colorado. Taking on the salary saw the Flyers land a first, something Calgary failed to do when moving comparable Chris Tanev to Dallas. The Flyers haul for Provorov is now essentially defensive prospect Oliver Bonk (CBJ 2023 first), Colorado’s 2025 first, goalie prospect Carson Bjarnason (acquired using 2024 LAK second-rounder), defensive prospect Helge Grans, a 2024/2025 second-rounder for Columbus, and the contracts of Cal Petersen and Johansen. That’s a grand slam.

Amid a career season, Walker’s value will never be higher, and his age nor his next contract (probably upward of $5 million average annual value) would fit into the Flyers’ long-term vision. At the same time, the Flyers can afford to pay Johansen’s salary and either bury him in the minors or treat him as a reclamation project in hopes of flipping him for a pick next year like they did with Walker at this deadline.

As a rebuilding team, compiling picks and prospects is paramount, and Brière landed another premium one in return for a player the Flyers only had their hands on for a few months. Not too shabby. The Flyers are still looking for building blocks to pair with young players like Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett, Cam York, and Jamie Drysdale, and still don’t have a future No. 1 center in the pipeline. Now armed with two first-round picks in each of the next two drafts and eight picks in the top two rounds split between 2024 and 2025, the Flyers are well-positioned to address those needs and take the next in their rebuild.

» READ MORE: Flyers sign Nick Seeler to 4-year contract extension, ending trade speculation

Grade: A-