The big news coming out of Philadelphia this week was the Flyers cutting defenseman Emil Andrae from the training camp roster and reassigning him to the minors to start the season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
It was a move that came as a surprise to many, primarily because of who the Flyers are expected to keep instead. With Rasmus Ristolainen injured to start the season, there’s a good chance they intend to keep all of Dennis Gilbert, Adam Ginning, Noah Juulsen, and Egor Zamula to round out the defensive corps.
Even with 8 defensemen expected to make the cut, Andrae was not apart of the list and his reassignment to the minors has opened up the possibility of a trade.
The Flyers were certainly hoping to see a lot more from their prospects, especially in Andrae and Helge Grans, with the latter being sent down to the minors a few days prior. However, head coach Rick Tocchet made some comments earlier this week that illuminated why the Swedish prospect was probably on the outside looking in.
“Hockey and lineups are a puzzle, right? Whoever that 5th, if Zamula holds the 5th, you use that 6th spot as a penalty killer, it’s gotta be a guy that can defend. If he’s big then that’s even better but that’s not saying that a smaller guy couldn’t go in, it’s just you gotta be really good at something in those situations. But a PK guy should dictate the 6th spot.”
Considering Andrae doesn’t check a lot of those boxes off, Tocchet and the Flyers felt it was best for him to start the year in the minors. Unfortunately, that leaves them in limbo, and while they don’t have to move him quite yet, it has led them to start preliminary talks to see what his value is.
Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco touched on the subject and reiterated that while the Flyers are open to the idea of trading Andrae, they’re not in any hurry. However, the insider does mention that an Eastern Conference executive said that the Flyers would be looking for a defensive prospect in return or a third round pick.
It’s not a good sign for Andrae’s prospects of sticking in Philadelphia when he was bested by Zamula and Gilbert. The former has been a mainstay of sorts over last few years but his play has been deteriorating over the course of his short tenure and it’s a bit of a surprise he’s expected to make it out. Foot speed has been an issue with him, and despite his 6’3” stature, he does not play a “big” or heavy style.
As for Gilbert, he should be seen strictly as the number 8 option on the back-end until Ristolainen’s return. He’s a bottom-pair, defensive defenseman, who can block shots, finish checks, and kills penalties; essentially all the boxes that Tocchet is looking to check off.
There’s no real concern with having Gilbert up with the big club and sitting in the press box compared to having Andrae doing the same thing. The Flyers would rather see him play big minutes and a major role, albeit in the minor leagues.
Even going beyond the 8 defensemen – 9 if you include Ristolainen – up with the big club right now, Andrae has to do battle against prospects like Grans, Hunter McDonald, and at some point Ethan Samson and Oliver Bonk. Even though he should clear them all, including some at the NHL-level, the Flyers are going back to size and physicality, at least for the final few spots.
The other issue is that Cam York and Jamie Drysdale are entrenched in the top-4 with Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler. They want to beef up the position and it definitely seems like that logjam and his stature are playing against him right now.
Additionally, for someone of his stature to stand out, speed would have to be his weapon of choice, which isn’t the case and that’s coming from a league-wide source.
“Speaking with an Eastern Conference executive, Andrae is liked especially for his competitiveness and poise, but the same executive wishes “he was a bit quicker for his size.”
If the Flyers can’t find space for Andrae in the NHL, or if they’re even unwilling to try and are forced to move him, it could be a decision they soon regret. He has yet to take off after being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft but he’s also still just 23-years-old and has plenty of years ahead of him.
It would also be costly if they moved him because they prioritized defensemen like Gilbert, Juulsen, and Zamula over him, all of whom don’t and won’t fit into their future plans beyond the 2025-26 season.
While DiMarco makes sure to mention that the Flyers aren’t actively shopping him, he does say that because of how they’re currently constructing of their back-end, it’s a likely scenario. A third round pick also seems like a fairly easy asking price to meet for rival teams later on in the season when injuries and depth become an issue.
The Flyers need to make sure they think this one through before moving forward with veterans and prioritizing size over other intangibles. Andrae deserves a shot at the NHL level and if it won’t come in Philadelphia, it does sound like he could earn it elsewhere in no time.
