Parent: Can the Flyers get more draft pick ammo?
PHILADELPHIA >> With NHL trade deadline day upon them, the Flyers weren’t expected to play much of a role in any of the typical rumors running around the hockey airwaves.
Don’t expect them to, as general manager Ron Hextall declared any “buying” to be a no-no, at least until the summer trading season. How Hextall fares in what could be a one-day spring sale before Wednesday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, however, could impact how active the Flyers can be when it comes to any summer trade talks.
If they can successfully turn a couple of players over for draft-pick assets, they could go in with generous working space under the salary cap, and garner additional draft-pick ammo that is welcome in any package deal.
Any set-ups for summer dealmaking would be a welcome sign, because this is a franchise that may be building an impressive list of prospects, but has rapidly fallen far behind much of its Metropolitan Division contenders in current big-league talent.
Speaking of those superior Flyers rivals, the team making the most noise so far in what’s actually been a fairly busy pre-deadline trading period is the Metro team that already was making the best case for Stanley Cup favorite.
The NHL-leading Washington Capitals didn’t lose a current NHL asset in acquiring two-way defenseman and power play quarterback Kevin Shattenkirk, who had 11 goals and 42 points for the Blues before being shipped to a team that needs a Cup now.
Other significant moves were seen in a mind-bending deal in which Los Angeles brought in rent-agoalie Ben Bishop from Tampa Bay for so-so backup Peter Budaj, defensive prospect Erik Cernak and a swap of some picks. For L.A., that’s only insurance on the health of goalie Jon Quick, because Bishop will go big as an unrestricted free agent in July.
The Lightning, who also sent big Brian Boyle to Toronto, figured it was the right time to sell, since they aren’t likely to re-sign Bishop. Along those same lines, Carolina shipped Viktor Stalberg to Ottawa and Arizona sent center Martin Hanzal to Minnesota.
The Flyers, of course, would never promote themselves as part of that sellers club that includes Arizona, Tampa and Carolina ... but it’s been easy to see they should be.
You just wonder how many interested buyers would cast a glance their way.
They do have some interesting assets on the trading table, including defensemen Mark Streit, Michael Del Zotto and Nick Schultz — all pending unrestricted free agents — along with perhaps both of their goalies, certainly Steve Mason and maybe Michal Neuvirth.
They’re also pending UFAs, leaving the Flyers to hope they get the option to send one or a few of those guys out to garner draft pick assets and shave some fat off their salary cap.
That said, all seems quiet on the rumor front involving the Flyers, perhaps with the exception of a couple of guys that paid a visit to Wells Fargo Center Tuesday night.
Colorado, which is having an awful season, needs to make a move with either unhappy center Matt Duchene or team captain Gabe Landeskog.
Both primary forwards were said to be taken aback recently when team GM Joe Sakic declared that young forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, respectively 21 and 20 years of age, were the team’s lone untouchables. Everyone else ... beat it! Actually, Sakic is more likely to keep a slow pace in his ongoing rebuild (if that’s what you call it) of his team. Landeskog is a terrific player but Duchene is drawing the bulk of the interest out there. There is no reason for Sakic to pull a fast trigger rather than conduct a little bit of a bidding war at an NHL Draft in June, one in which he has a good shot to have the No. 1 overall pick.
What a package that would be for an established star.
Meanwhile, Mason was making his first start in seven games Tuesday night against the Avalanche. This a day after spending time talking about his curious situation — a rather well-paid netminder who has had an ultimately disappointing season, along with all of his teammates.
He may soon get a strong hint that indeed he’ll be looking hard at the free agent market this summer.
There was a report Tuesday that Neuvirth, who has had a sub-par year himself, could be in line for a contract extension from the Flyers before season’s end. It makes sense, with Phantoms goalie Anthony Stolarz aiming to make the big club out of training camp this fall and highly regarded prospects Felix Sandstrom and Carter Hart not far behind.
Another year of Neuvirth, provided he can stay relatively healthy (and yes, that’s a chancy provision) can offer this club a steady, veteran hand during this transition period (some teams call that rebuilding), especially if he didn’t require a ton more than the $1.65 million average salary he received in his two Flyers seasons.
That’s compared to the $4.1 million cap hit incurred for Mason. For him, overseeing the game against Colorado might have been the start of one last push to showcase himself before the summer shopping season.