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What The Hex Is Going On In Philly?

January 12, 2017, 11:28 PM ET [16 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT
 
The Philadelphia Flyers are a mercurial team right now.

One shift they are up, next shift they are down. One period up, two periods down.


The Flyers are slip, sliding away with an unimpressive 2-6-4 record in their past 12 games.
 
This is the same Flyers crew that won ten games in a row not too long ago.
 
The Flyers are no longer on auto-pilot. Their double digit cushion in points on Metropolitan Division opponents is so 2016.

Today, the Flyers have just a four point lead on Florida for a wild card.
 
The team that could do no wrong during their ten game winning streak can no longer do anything right. Once a model of consistency, the only thing the Flyers forwards, D, and goalies are doing consistently these days is loose battles inside shifts that lead to lost periods and lost games.


Losers of seven of their last nine games, the Flyers needed the shootout to beat the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.

 
The Fly Boys cling ever so gently to their Eastern Conference wild card spot. Their margin for error is gone like the wind. Florida, Carolina, Toronto, Tampa, and Buffalo are now well within striking distance of the Flyers. The Eastern playoff race will literally come down to the final days of the season.

Now might be the time for Hextall to inject scoring into his lineup before the prices increase at the March 1 NHL trade deadline.

 
Ron Hextall possesses an embarrassment of riches of the type of player that all NHL GMs are looking for at all times: young, skilled,difference making, high quality defensemen.

Hextall has a bevy of soon to be star defensemen to use as trade bait to deliver to Philly a proven top six power forward who can score 5v5 and on the power play.

When you think of the Flyers and their gold mine of young star defensemen, there are two players written in Sharpie at the top of the legal pad: Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere.


The rookie Provorov has already esrablished himself as a rock solid NHL defenseman. This kid is going to be a star in the NHL before too long. Provorov is to this season what Shane Gostisbehere was last season for the Flyers. Like “Ghost”, Provorov has earned the trust of his head coach and is skating 20 minutes TOI per game in key situations. Provorov and Gostisbehere have 19 points apiece thi season. Both are lefties.”Ghost” is 23. Provorov is only 19.

I've been told that the Flyers have been telling teams not to even bother asking about Provorov and Gostisbehere in trade “what if” conversations.
 

 However, the Flyers are said to be interested in listening to trade opportunities for quality young D prospects Travis Sandheim (1st round 2014, lefty), Sam Morin (1st Round 2013, lefty), Robert Haag (2nd round 2013, lefty) and Philippe Myers (undrfated).

Sanheim is 6'4” and 200 lbs. and has 5 goals and 11 assists with Lehigh Valley this season. Sanheim scored 68 points in his final season in major junior and projects to be a 30+ point man in the NHL. He makes fast retrievals, hits forwards moving with tape to tape passes and plays with an edge.

Morin is 6'7” and 225 lbs. and has 2 goals, 4 assists and 53 PIMs with Lehigh Valley. Morin projects to be a 30 point man in the NHL. Size, strength, speed, scoring. Morin has it all.


The Phantoms have Sanheim paired with Morin,whom he very well could be paired with once both D make it up to the Flyers D corps.

Hagg is 6'2” and 210 lbs. and will be a solid NHL defender.

Myers is 6'5” and 210 and recently starred for Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championships. He has 8 goals and 10 assists in 19 games for his junior team in Rouyn Nouranda.

The Flyers have drafted D-men better than any other team in the NHL. The problem is that not all of these blue chip defenders will be playing full time in Philly.

One or two of these talented kids will be used as trade currency in order to land a top six scoring forward this this season.


Hextall may want  trade one of his blue chip D prospects now in order to secure a scoring forward who can inject scoring 5v5 and on the PP.
 
 
Hextall said earlier this week that he won't make a trade for the sake of making a trade. In other words, if a trade proposal makes sense and will add immediate value to his team, he will make a trade. Hextall knows that he has to trade a valuable piece to take possession of a valuable piece.

The conundrum for Hextall right now is deciding which of his young defensemen prospects will he trade now to get a veteran power forward?

For weeks, the Flyers have been sending three of their pro scouts to Buffalo Sabres games and are routinely at the NHL and AHL levels this season. Sabres GM Tim Murray missed out on a trade Anaheim LD Cam Fowler last summer. Since then, Murray has been in hot pursuit of a lefty who can play the second pair and run a PP. Murray has not had any luck finding a trade partner. Several NHL teams are and have been scouting the Buffalo Sabres extensively this season.

The Flyers are one of the teams who continue to do their diligence. Like the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks, the Flyers are looking for the sameveteran goal scoring winger.

On Thursday night in Tampa, Evander Kane scored his 11th goal in his last 18 games. Kane is healthy and has been one of the hottest goal scorers in the NHL to date.

Kane has been lighting the lamp, hitting, fighting and contributing on both sides of the puck. So, why would Murray trade his hottest scorer while his team is in the hunt for a playoff berth? Murray needs a top four defenseman, and the going rate for such a valuable player is a top six forward. Last summer's Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson trade set the market for top four D and top six forwards.

Another reason for moving Kane is that the Sabres may not be interested in proetcting Kane in the upcoming Las Vegas expansion draft. Tim Murray would want to get compensation for Kane now in the event he is left unprotected and would be free tro sign with Vegas later this summer.
 

I think it would be wise for Murray to consider trading Kane for a top four defenseman.

Why not ask for Gostisbehere right off the bat? Hextall may be willing to entertain the idea.


If Hextall threatens to hang up the phone, then ask for Morin or Sanheim and a forward.



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Hexy will have a big decision to make this weekend as veteran D Mark Streit is about to be activated off IR. Streit earns $5.25M and is ready to return to work.

Problem being the Flyers are up against their salary cap ceiling right now.

Looks to me like Hextall will have to trade away a defenseman contract to clear room for Streit.

The 39 year old Streit will be UFA on July 1. He is being paid $5.25M this season.


Evander Kane earns $5.25M this season, and next season.

What if Tim Murray accepted Streit, whom the Flyers will not be re-signing next season, and a top four D prospect in Sandheim or Morin in exchange for Kane?












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