The Philadelphia Flyers badly need short and long-term pieces to help fill out their defense, and what better way to do that than to just swing for the big fish right away?
We all know the Buffalo Sabres are the Buffalo Sabres, and while they did just get their first win of the season with an 8-4 throttling of a Brady Tkachuk-less Ottawa Senators team, they’re going to have to do more to convince their big guns to stick around.
For years now, Bowen Byram has been a name linked to the Flyers, and while he did sign a two-year, $12.5 million contract extension with Buffalo, he’s not exactly out of the woods yet, especially if he doesn’t get expanded offensive opportunities.
Those opportunities are currently being afforded to Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin, and while those two are tied down at $8.35 and $11 million cap hits until 2031 and 2032, respectively, the rumored expectation for the Sabres this year is to win. Put all the pieces together, and win.
If they can’t? The Flyers might want to swoop in.
The obvious target is Byram, but it’s plausible the situation in Philadelphia is similar to that in Buffalo in the sense that the Flyers have Jamie Drysdale, Cam York, and Travis Sanheim vying for power play time.
Byram could very well be a better power play quarterback than all of those players, but it subsequently reduces the ceiling of Drysdale and York, specifically, as well.
NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers Badly Need Defensive Upgrades
The Philadelphia Flyers are reportedly scouring the NHL trade market for much-needed defensive reinforcements, but which players are actually going to be worth their while?
As for Power, well, that’s the big swing the Flyers would ideally like to take. The 2021 former No. 1 overall pick is just 22 years old, has a great contract, could benefit from playing out of Dahlin’s shadow, and is 6-foot-6.
That checks basically all of the boxes for the Flyers, with the size being one of the key factors in the eyes of management.
Acquiring a player like Power helps the Flyers in a variety of ways in the future, too.
For starters, the Flyers don’t have a prospect in the system to point to and declare as a future top-pairing defenseman, though an argument could be made for Oliver Bonk in certain contexts.
The left side is already weak, and the Flyers have only Hunter McDonald, Emil Andrae, and Ty Murchison in terms of prospects there.
At best, the Flyers carry a left side of Power, York, and Sanheim, with the former two both being 24 years old or younger. At worst, Sanheim stays on the right, and the Flyers still need to find a longer-term solution to the third defense pair.
As for a potential trade package, the Flyers are going to have to part with something significant, especially for Power.
That could look something like two first-round picks, a good roster player, and at least one top prospect.
In regards to Byram, the Sabres only needed to part with Casey Mittelstadt to pry him from Colorado, and Mittelstadt is already on a new team in Boston just over a year later.
Alex Tuch might not remain with the Sabres beyond this year, and Buffalo can probably do better than Jason Zucker, Josh Doan, and Justin Danforth getting top-nine minutes.
Owen Tippett, who is signed at a $6.25 million cap hit through 2032, will have a modified no-trade clause kick in on July 1 and could be a strong fit in Buffalo.
At the same time, he’s a player the Flyers have invested in for a reason, and he’s been receiving an expanded role on the penalty kill under Rick Tocchet.
To get, you have to give, of course, and it’s not a deal that will come easy for the Flyers. At some point, though, something will have to shake, and there’s been an awful lot of chatter about these Sabres defensemen lately.
