Byfuglien an ideal trade target

He has the booming, right-handed shot from the point the Flyers have been missing since Chris Pronger was concussed for good. He has the size (6-5, 265 pounds) that Pronger possessed, and then some. And although his defensive blueprint is often critiqued, Dustin Byfuglien at 28 also wears a Stanley Cup ring.

He was one very big reason the Chicago Blackhawks went all the way in the spring of 2010, beating Pronger and the Flyers in the Stanley Cup finals. Mostly playing as a power forward, Byfuglien had 11 goals in those playoffs, and for his trouble, the Hawks made him the centerpiece of a nine-player, salaryshedding trade to Atlanta.

The “Big Buff” quickly shrugged off the shock and carved a huge niche on the blue line for what was the Thrashers, then the Winnipeg Jets when the franchise relocated for the 2011-12 season. Through his first three seasons with the Jets/Thrashers, he had 40 goals and 94 assists for 134 points in 190 games, primarily as a defenseman. He slipped a bit this season (13 goals, 30 assists in 60 games before the Olympic break), but the whole Jets team did, too.

Offensively challenged Winnipeg was so needy for goals that it moved Byfuglien to forward again. But he is most effective using his body and forward skating skills to vast effect on the blue line, and can be an outright beast at the point on the power play.

In short, a Byfuglien acquisition would fill the Flyers’ most pressing needs and could turn them into a very real Stanley Cup contender.

To get him, the Flyers would likely have to blow the Jets out of the water with an offer, because a Byfuglien auction at the NHL Draft (which will be held in June at Wells Fargo Center) would draw much attention. But the Flyers have the financial wherewithal and personnel power to make it happen. He has two years remaining on a deal that draws a $5.2 million cap hit, and since Kimmo Timonen’s $6 million hit is scheduled to come off the books, Byfuglien could be an impressive and easy fit.

As for bait, the Flyers have been dangling both Andrej Meszaros and Braydon Coburn out there since the summer. In addition to one of those defensemen, the Jets would likely want a prime young for- ward like Sean Couturier or Brayden Schenn, though the Flyers likely would try to send a scoring-capable guy like Matt Read or impressive prospect Scott Laughton instead.

Either way, it’s likely the Flyers won’t remain quiet once the trade season restarts at 11:59 p.m. Sunday night. That’s when the Olympic moratorium on trade announcements ends, and from there until 3 p.m. on March 5, a slew of teams jammed together as playoff contenders in both conferences will be looking for an edge.

Though it’s been better in their last few games, chaos in the defensive zone remains the Flyers’ most pressing pain. They are slow back there, but it’s not so much lack of speed as it is lack of direction on breakouts.

It’s also a crowded blue line, with Erik Gustafsson and Meszaros fighting for playing time ahead of No. 8 defender Hal Gill. Any trade, especially one of significant magnitude, would mean blue line movement for the Flyers.

Meszaros left the Olympics disappointed by the performance of Team Slovakia, but he didn’t hurt his showcase status there. He’s not a favorite of Craig Berube, and the Flyers have long relished the idea of parting with Meszaros’ $4 million cap hit. But now he’s a pending unrestricted free agent and would be an attractive rental option for contenders looking for defensive help.

Coburn was the subject of trade rumors at the draft in 2013, and was probably part of the reason Edmonton GM Craig MacTavish made a few trips to Philly this season. Coburn carries value on the trade market, even with two years left on a contract with a $4.5 million cap hit.

Then there’s Timonen. His inflated two-year deal is almost at an end, and carried with it the personal bonus of a successful run in the Olympics that resulted in a bronze medal. It’s believed he will return to Finland at the season’s conclusion but there has been no real commitment to that end. Either way, the veteran blueliner might sign off on a rental trade if he thought the other guys had a better championship chance than the Flyers. It’s the only thing he hasn’t accomplished.

As of Sunday night, the clock starts ticking again. It’s time for the Flyers to get aggressive.