As we talked about it earlier last week, the market for expiring and pending UFA defensemen is very thin at the moment with most of them playing for hopefuls and contenders. This is where the Philadelphia Flyers can enter the chat – if they want.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in dire need of defensive help with Mark Giordano out long-term with a broken finger, Timothy Liljegren sidelined indefinitely, and John Klingberg recently being ruled out for the season. They are still left with Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, and Jake McCabe but their depth is being tested with Conor Timmins, Simon Benoit, William Lagesson, and Maxime Lajoie currently on the roster.
Elliotte Friedman took to 32 Thoughts: The Podcast the other day and mentioned that the Leafs have touched base with the Flyers regarding defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and in the days prior, Leafs Twitter was ablaze because they detailed how Toronto believes his style of play would translate well in the playoffs.
While it’s interesting to see a team talking about a defenseman who has 3 years remaining at an annual cap hit of $5.1 million, there are a myriad of questions to ask and tackle. Friedman sucked the air out of a lot of Flyers fans’ sails who were more than willing to let go of Ristolainen, as he mentioned the club isn’t in any rush to deal the hulking Finn and they don’t want to throw a “stink-bomb” while they’re playing considerably well – well beyond expectations.
For starters, of the 8 Flyers defensemen currently with the club, only Travis Sanheim and Cam York are signed beyond this year besides Ristolainen and Louie Belpedio. Ristolainen would provide the Flyers with 3 regulars heading into the summer with Sean Walker, Marc Staal, Egor Zamula, and Nick Seeler all playing on expiring deals. He is also of the very rare breed of right-hand shooting defensemen that teams covet like diamonds.
Then you have to factor in Emil Andrae, Ronnie Attard, and Helge Grans from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, that the Flyers will more than likely extend Zamula – who will be an RFA at the end of the year – and will also have Belpedio for one more season beyond 2023-24. You’d have to imagine that at least one of the 3 prospects will be around the big club next year, maybe 2.
Once that is factored into the equation, you have to add the variables surrounding Walker and Seeler specifically because Daniel Brière, Keith Jones, and John Tortorella adore both defensemen for what they bring to the table. Walker has been nothing short of exceptional when you consider he was a throw-in in the Ivan Provorov deal. He can easily figure into the top-3 of Flyers defensemen this year with Sanheim and York.
Seeler on the other hand might not be the flashiest, you might not notice him on an nightly basis – which most pundits say that’s the best thing to hear about a defenseman – but he puts his body on the line every single shift and is well respected by the locker room and the coaching staff. They are constantly raving about the player and that’s not something you generally see with a bottom-pairing defenseman.
Darren Dreger then mentioned that the Maple Leafs have also touched base on Nick Seeler and Sean Walker and have been told that the asking price is no less than a 2nd round pick and in the instance of Walker it could be a 1st round pick. The Maple Leafs do have their first round pick for 2024 but do not have a 2nd round pick for the next 3 seasons or their first round pick in 2025.
Dreger added how the Flyers may want to re-sign one or both and the asking price is so high because they are in no rush to make a deal, especially when they’re currently in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division, own a top-6 penalty kill, have allowed just 71 goals, and own a goal differential of +9 – all of which are massive improvements.
Ray Ferraro added that because the Maple Leafs don’t have the draft capital that the Flyers are asking for, one of their top prospects might have to be added into the framework of the deal. He name dropped Fraser Minten, who was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and made the Leafs outright out of training camp before being sent back to the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL after a 4-game stint in the NHL.
Minten scored 20 goals and 55 points in 67 games in his draft season before scoring 31 goals and 67 points in just 57 games last year. Currently on the season, Minten has 4 goals and 13 points across 11 games between Kamloops and the Saskatoon Blades.
Brière has been playing hard-ball – of sorts – since he’s taken over as general manager. Ahead of the draft this past summer, he announced to the rest of the hockey world that his team is up for sale but at the right price. That led to a trove of teams knocking on the door for players like Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton specifically.
While it was reported that they were offered a first round pick for Laughton, the Flyers balked at the offer as they value his Swiss Army knife intangibles and leadership qualities. Was that bad asset management from the new front office group in the summer? And will people be upset again if the Flyers balk at a 2nd round pick if it’s offered?
The wagon that the Flyers have built this season is something we haven’t seen since the 9-game winning streak before it was snapped the night that sports was cancelled due to COVID-19. Going back further, the Flyers haven’t been this dominant since 2017-18 when Claude Giroux surpassed 100 points, Jakub Voráček piled up 85, and Shayne Gostisbehere put up 65.
Attard and Grans haven’t lit the AHL ablaze quite yet, but Andrae has done well in the early going. The rebuild that some were anticipating where they tore down every fabric and pillar was never going to take place and it doesn’t seem like they’re going to divert their plans towards that kind of a build either.
Seeler, Walker, and Ristolainen have been invaluable this season for their different roles and as long as the Flyers continue to pile up the points and victories, they could very well stay put. If someone does offer a 2nd round pick for Seeler, it seems almost impossible that the Flyers say no. They can always re-sign him in the off-season if both sides are that enamoured with each other.
Walker was great in Los Angeles before he tore his ACL and MCL and it seems he has regained that very same form with the Flyers. It’s very plausible that he is re-signed but similarly to Seeler, if a high-valued pick is being dangled or a prospect like Minten, the Flyers have to do some serious thinking about the present and future.
2024 Stadium Series Trip
Flyers Nation and Philly Sports Trips have teamed up to bring you on an amazing bus trip to the 2024 NHL Stadium Series between the Flyers and Devils. Place an early deposit to reserve your spot at the ultimate tailgate experience at MetLife Stadium before the game. The package includes a game ticket, round-trip charter bus, an all-inclusive tailgate party with unlimited cold beverages, “Philly Style” catered food, live entertainment, and more.
