Weal goes to Arizona in Fletcher’s 1st deal
In a league that has made a move toward skilled, speedy and smaller forwards in recent years, Jordan Weal for a time looked like he could be just that for the Flyers.
A diligent practice player, a sometimes hard-working forward who tried to patrol both ends of the ice, Weal - very optimistically listed at 5-10 and 180 pounds - also seemed to have the skills necessary to overcome his diminutive size.
Given every chance to stick as a starter, he instead became a parttime player late last season and never recaptured the form he’d flashed near the end of the 201617 season. With new Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher seemingly poised to sell off what he can to get something out of a season that has gone to the dogs, Weal became the new GM’s first move Friday. He was unceremoniously dealt to the Arizona Coyotes for a sixth-round draft pick in next June’s draft.
The Flyers also received low minor league defenseman Jacob Graves to allow the Coyotes to add Weal, as Arizona is at the
50-man organizational contract maximum limit.
Graves, 23, had spent this season with the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals, scoring two goals and seven points in 32 games. He did play parts of the previous two seasons up in the AHL with Cleveland.
All in all, however, dealing Weal simply clears space both on the cap and in the locker room for what soon will be Fletcher’s rebuilding project. The Flyers finally broke an eight-game losing streak Thursday with a win over Dallas, but at 38 points sit by themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
It’s been a stunning fall in a season in which a team at least expected to make the playoffs again simply hasn’t competed since Day One. Along the way, both general manager Ron Hextall and head coach Dave Hakstol have been fired.
Veteran players would likely be next to go, with veteran without a contract Wayne Simmonds qualifying as a likely candidate for a key deal to come.
As for Weal, he was a key player for the Flyers only for a short time. Originally part of the Jan. 6, 2016 salary dump deal which sent failed Flyers free agent Vincent Lecavalier to Los Angeles, Weal — a former Calder Cup final MVP — first made his mark here with the Phantoms with 47 points in 43 games during the 2016-17 season.
Promoted to the Flyers for the stretch drive then, he scored eight goals and 12 points in 23 games and subsequently earned a new NHL contract.
Weal promptly flopped last season, scoring but eight goals and 13 assists (21 points) in 69 games, going from second-line starter to part-time player along the way.
This season he had three goals and six assists in 28 games and lately has been a frequent healthy scratch.