Flyers add veteran defenceman Braun in trade with Sharks
The Philadelphia Flyers continued to remake their defence Tuesday.
Four days after they acquired Matt Niskanen from Washington, the Flyers traded two draft picks to San Jose for veteran defenceman Justin Braun.
“He is a high-character, quality defender who will bring a steadying presence to our team,” Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said.
The Flyers sent their secondround pick (41st overall) in this weekend’s draft and a thirdround 2020 selection to the Sharks.
It was a deal that countered the strategy used by former GM Ron Hextall, who tried to stockpile draft picks for the future.
Fletcher’s focus is clearly on building for the present.
Braun, 32, a stay-at-home defender who shoots right-handed, has spent his entire nine-year National Hockey League career with San Jose. He had two goals, 14 assists and a career-worst minus-14 rating last season, the sixth straight year he averaged more than 20 minutes per game.
A Minneapolis native, Braun said it was a “little shocking” to be traded “but at the same time, it’s exciting. It’s something new, something different.”
Braun, who is friends with the 32-year-old Niskanen and Flyers left winger James van Riemsdyk, said he was looking forward to playing in front of young goalie Carter Hart, saying “he looks like the real deal.”
The six-foot-two, 205-pound Braun, who played at the University of Massachusetts, has appeared in 84 Stanley Cup playoff games, the second-highest total in San Jose history among defencemen.
He helped the Sharks reach the Western Conference finals this season, and played in three conference finals and the 2016 Stanley Cup final.
Braun’s contract has a $3.8million salary-cap hit, and he is a potential unrestricted free agent after the ’19-20 season.
During his time in San Jose, Braun has been on all three pairings. For a time, he was with Marc-Edouard Vlasic on the Sharks’ shutdown pairing. This season, he was mostly on the third pairing when Erik Karlsson was healthy.
“I always try to play defence first,” Braun said. “Have a good gap and bring pucks up quick. I’m not afraid to go back for pucks and get there first and take a hit every now and again.”
The Flyers defence now includes Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Niskanen, Braun, Phil Myers, Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg, and Samuel Morin.