Future Trades That Could Benefit Flyers Contract Issues

It’s only two games into the 2011-12 Flyers season, so the mere suggestion of trades is a bit premature. However, the predicament that the front office finds itself in with the return of Blair Betts has resulted in contract limit issues if the team wishes to keep Sean Couturier on the roster for an extended period of time.

It has also become clear that Blair Betts, for whatever reason, is not in the Flyers’ plans. Betts certainly has trade value if he’s healthy, but he’s stuck in limbo while his knee remains an issue. Some have suggested he could “walk away” from his contract to try and sign with another team, but it’s not his fault the team has put itself in this situation. Had they placed him on unconditional waivers and bought out his contract before the season started, this wouldn’t even be an issue.

The only option left is to either trade a player or send Couturier back down to juniors. So what are the Flyers’ trade options?

• Scott Hartnell – I would be very hesitant to move Hartsy with such a young team in place, especially with the potential for injuries down the road.  His “demotion” to the third line has cut his ice time, but he’s playing about as much as Wayne Simmonds.  He set up the goal for Matt Read on Saturday night, so there’s hope that he can gel on the third line with Read and Couturier. The reason to trade him is his $4.2 million cap hit and his value as a top six forward. Any number of teams would be willing to take him if they had the cap space, but it would also require he waive his no-trade-clause to allow the transaction. Even though the “Hartnell-to-Nashville” rumor was complete bunk, it actually made sense. Nashville certainly has the appeal as a competitive team on the rise as well as $12.9 million in cap space.
• Matt Walker– The Flyers made a big deal out of how great Walker looked at practice and in the preseason. Truthfully, he performed well enough to earn the 6^th defenseman position out of camp and was slated to play opening night. Then… Andreas Lilja took his place. Then… nothing. He is apparently neither injured nor being disciplined, which suggests that all that hoopla was to persuade other teams to trade for him. Walker, if truly healthy, can be a satisfactory 5^th/6^th defenseman. He’s also a physical player that can take on some of the responsibility of protecting his teammates. Unfortunately, even a weak defensive team like the Edmonton Oilers doesn’t need another Theo Peckham on the roster. If the Flyers waivedJody Shelley, Walker could serve his role, but it wouldn’t reduce the contract limit.
• Michael Leighton– Leighton didn’t exactly get off to a great start on Saturday, letting in 3 goals to Kris Newbury in the Adirondack Phantoms’ victory over the Connecticut Whale. Still, Leighton is a very good back-up and a borderline NHL starter. His salary doesn’t help his chances of making it back to the NHL, as there are always veteran free agent options available that would be willing to play for a third of his salary just to get back into the league, but he has some value. If the Columbus Blue Jackets had any cap space, I’d imagine they would be a viable trading partner. The franchise, looking for a breakout year after trading for Jeff Carter, is now 0-3 for this season due in large part to spotty goaltending from Steve Mason (surprise). Unfortunately, salary would have to come back to make that trade work and it would defeat the purpose of removing a contract.
• Player Bundles– The other option is to trade multiple players for a single player in return. That may mean sending a player who has value on the roster- Andreas Nodl or Matt Read, for instance- for someone of similar or equal value on another team. Then throw in another player to remove a contract.  When the Flyers traded for the rights to speak with Ilya Bryzgalov earlier this summer, they threw in prospect Matt Clackson just to eliminate a contract. The same methodology would apply here. Bundle Matt Read and, let’s say, Stefan Legein for Eric Belanger and you’ve effectively eliminated a contract. It’s not ideal considering Read has a lot of potential, but it alleviates the contract issue. Similarly, the Flyers could bundle a defenseman like Braydon Coburn to make a deal with Edmonton for prospect Teemu Hartikainen and draft picks. Again, not ideal. 

In short, there really are no ideal options other than sending Couturier back to juniors while the team waits to find a trade partner. It’s unlikely a trade would take place this quickly into the season, but stranger things have happened. Who expected Betts to be waived, claimed, and returned last week?

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