The '25-'26 Philadelphia Flyers thread

[bigegypt0417]

Flyers could end up being pretty quiet but at least one player may be dealt...

https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/elliotte-friedman-links-lightning-to-flyers-bobby-brink-in-trade-talk/

[VoteForKalas]

I would keep Brink. Sure, he may not stay a top 6 guy, but he is young, cheap and talented. He may have another gear in his game. Memories of Justin Williams and Patrick Sharp still cut too close to the skin.

Risto is the guy they should move now if they can get a decent return. If not, then in the offseason for sure. He has zero future here and will get injured again aoon.

[zambonir]

I think it just makes more sense to wait until summer for Brink. Can't imagine a playoff team overpays for him in the stretch run even though he has future value. The only short-term argument is Michkov goes back to RW.

But the Flyers are going to have to shed a wing one way or another to make room for Martone, and hopefully Bump, and Barkey looks like a keeper too. Don't need both Barkey and Brink.

But any of these guys could also go into a package for a C this summer (besides Martone and Michkov).

[Squire]

Flyers have traded RW Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild for Defenseman Prospect David Jiricek

[zambonir]

Guess that smoke was a real fire!

[zambonir]

Guy is basically a lottery ticket/hopeful late bloomer at this point (which is fair enough for a dman), but was taken one spot after Gauthier in 2022. Also presumably Risto's replacement.

He cost the Wild Daemon Hunt, a 2025 1st round pick, 2026 3rd round pick, a 2026 4th round pick, and a 2027 2nd round pick just last year.

[LegoDoom]

Jiricek used to be a bigtime prospect. He hasn't been very productive, but I haven't seen him play much.

[bigegypt0417]

Another trade

https://x.com/i/status/2029961612153459217

[zambonir]

That one was actually official first. But obviously very minor.

[Squire]

Nic Deslauriers traded to Carolina for a 2027 7th round pick

[VoteForKalas]

Addition by subtraction. What value does a goon have in today's game and a goon who sucks is even worse.

Too bad about Brink. I would not have made that trade. Hope it does not haunt us.

[phillychuck]

The team loves Deslauriers. There could be chemistry issues like the Sixers have had after trading McCain (who is obviously a better player in basketball than Deslauriers is in hockey, but also was well liked by the team).

[zambonir]

Obviously if a winning and well-run team like Carolina wants Deslauriers, his intangibles (and the odd fight) have value, even if he doesn't get a shift in the post-season. I think the locker room is probably happy for him in this case (and the Flyers weren't looking to get anything for him, just do him a solid). Losing Brink probably a bigger disappointment.

Flyers likely to call up the Phantoms captain to replace Deslauriers, though they also got Glendinning off waivers to fill the hole left by Abols and improve the face-off options.

I think trading Brink (versus Barkey or Bump or Tippett) is probably fine. Just hope not settling for a lesser Risto deal wasn't the wrong move. Last year they were right to hold out on Laughton and got what they wanted, this year, didn't work out.

[phillychuck]

They get two other shots to trade Risto, this offseason and next trade deadline. For whatever reason they think holding onto him now is the best choice. I can’t see this logic, but it doesn’t mean they are wrong.

[Austinfan]

I have to think, given Briere's track record, that he simply wasn't offered enough for Risto.
Sure, there's a risk he gets injured, but there's also that if he stays healthy his value goes up this summer.
If they were only offered say a 2nd (50+ pick since it's from a PO team) plus a 3rd or B prospect (they don't need bottom roster/AHL+ types), worth the gamble to see if you can do better this summer.

[phillychuck]

AF, that is hoping you get more for one playoff run with him than you were being offered now for two runs with him. That’s betting against the likely trend. They might be right, but it’s a pretty big risk.

[zambonir]

The risk is that he gets hurt. But he could still be worth more in July than at deadline. More buyers, more/different deals to make. NHL players instead of future second-rounders (if we presume no first was offered this time). And you don't want to take a bad offer, both on its face, and as a negotiator in general.

The other possibility is that he's still wearing a Flyers uniform in a playoff series next April. Trading him a year from now would be the worst possible outcome, both in terms of the asset management and the team's overall fortune.

[VoteForKalas]

How Risto and Brink have been handled says a lot about how Briere views vets vs younger talents.

He somehow urgently had to trade Brink without getting much value, but held firm on trading Risto (again) because he supposedly did not get his "price".

I've agreed with most of his other trades/roster decisions, but this situation exposes his biases IMO to the detriment of the team.

[zambonir]

I think that's a misread of it. The Flyers might not be correct in their valuation of JIricek, but it is very high. He may be a project, but both his draft position and his most recent trade price were off the charts, and he's also a 22 year-old defenseman whereas Brink is a 25 year-old winger on a team full of wingers (including much younger wingers in Barkey, Michkov and eventually Bump and Martone).

There are things to not love about the Risto decision but I don't think the Brink trade shines any light on it either way. And if the best offer was just a 2nd and an okay prospect that offer will still be there in July. It sounds like other teams wanted the Flyers to retain $ too, but without getting more in return.

[zambonir]

Bump called up today too btw.