With the Olympic break right around the corner – and the trade deadline not far behind – the Philadelphia Flyers could be looking to make a few moves before the puck drops in Milano Cortina. The upcoming trade freeze from February 4 to 22 raises the question: Who could the Flyers trade before the Olympics begin?
Rasmus Ristolainen
The 6-foot-4 defenseman has been in trade rumors the last few seasons, as he has turned his game around since being traded to Philadelphia. Ristolainen is the longest active player in the NHL who has not played in a playoff series – 789 games to be exact. It’s a disservice to the physical defenseman whose play would be elevated come playoff time.
Ristolainen has only managed to participate in 13 games this season, after starting the season rehabbing from an offseason upper-body surgery, and then falling on injured reserve due to another upper-body injury. It’s no secret to anyone who has watched this team over the last several years that Ristolainen has injury issues. The hulking defenseman has not played a full 82-game season in the NHL since the 2015-16 season, and has only played a combined 107 games over the last three seasons. This has undoubtedly hurt his trade stock; however, the Flyers should still be looking to move on from the 31-year-old.
Anthony Di Marco recently wrote an article discussing the Flyers’ interest in still moving on from Ristolainen, despite the fact that they are still in the playoff hunt. The Flyers are going to have young prospects such as Hunter McDonald, Oliver Bonk, or Ty Murchison looking to make a push to the pro level over the next few years, and with the Flyers proving early this season that they can win big games without Ristolainen, it would be in the Flyers’ best interest to look to acquire any assets possible. For more on the possibility of the Flyers moving Ristolainen, click here.
Bobby Brink
The Flyers are probably not eager to move on from the 5-foot-9 winger, but with prospects in the pipeline forcing their hand, could Brink be a player they move on from? The former second-round pick has already eclipsed his career high in goals this season with 13 and has been thrust into a role on the sudo third-line with Noah Cates and Matvei Michkov. In the absence of Tyson Foerster, Brink’s assist numbers (9) are significantly down compared to last year, when he totaled 29 over 79 games. Foerster has been a scoring weapon for the Flyers, who, before his season-ending injury earlier this season, were shooting at a 24.4 shooting percentage.
Brink is by no means having a bad year, but with the Flyers’ logjam at wing, he could be one of the odd men out on a team that’s looking to turn the corner. With wingers Trevor Zegras and Denver Barkey establishing themselves as mainstays in the lineup, and with wing prospects Porter Martone and Alex Bump looking for a roster spot over the next few years, Brink has fallen into a bit of a hot seat. Brink is set to become an RFA at season’s end, and with younger, more cap-friendly options waiting in the wings, the Flyers will have some interesting decisions to make regarding the 24-year-old winger. For more on why the Flyers could look to move on from Brink, click here.
Owen Tippett
Another player the Flyers are not keen on moving on from anytime soon is Owen Tippett. Coming off a three-goal, one-assist performance against the NHL-best Colorado Avalanche on Friday, Tippett’s trade stock has never been higher. The 26-year-old winger has been a frustrating topic for Flyers fans after having long stretches of inconsistent play over his five-year tenure with the orange and black. This season, Tippett has 18 goals and 15 assists and has improved his play compared to last season, though he’s still not producing at a high enough level to be one of the Flyers’ top point scorers.
One reason the Flyers could be looking to move on from Tippett could be for the addition of a young, high-upside center. It’s no secret that the Flyers’ center depth is painfully slim, with Jett Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt – the two key names in their center pipeline – not exactly looking like a future first-line center of the future. Acquiring high-upside talent—especially at the center position—is no easy task, but given the Flyers’ lack of depth down the middle and their logjam of wingers, they would need to part with something notable to address that area of need.
Could it be a move that the Flyers are interested in making? Possibly. But with Tippett ramping up his game over the past few weeks, and the Flyers’ scoring struggles, I would be shocked to see them move on from Tippett unless the return was worthwhile. For more on why the Flyers need to be cautious about trading Tippett, click here.