Opinion: Mediocre Flyers Still Should Be Selling Assets By 2024-25 NHL Trade Deadline

For the second straight season, the Philadelphia Flyers have come out of the gate fairly competitively, posting a 14-15-4 record, good enough for fifth place in the Metropolitan Division wild-card race. However, the Flyers are only four standing points behind the Ottawa Senators and the second wild-card spot, and Philly is six points behind the first wild-card team, the Boston Bruins. This is a Flyers team that is probably ahead of the macro schedule laid out by GM Daniel Briere, and once again, coach John Tortorella is squeezing all he can out of his makeshift roster. That's a credit to the coach, the GM and everyone within the team.

Briere has acquired some young stars through the draft (Matvei Michkov, for instance), but he also has experienced players who should be shopped around and dealt to the highest bidder. At the same time, Briere should keep his eyes on the big prize, which is Philadelphia’s long-term future.

For that reason, the Flyers should be sellers at or before the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline. There is going to be plenty of interest in Philadelphia's players. For example, defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (two more years at $5.1 million per season) center Scott Laughton (one more season at $3 million per year) and soon-to-be RFA center Morgan Frost ($2.1-million cap hit) would definitely fetch them the draft picks and prospects they need to be targeting as they plot out a course to legitimacy and relevancy. Heck, even star left winger Joel Farabee could be dealt. Moving his veterans via trade is what’s best for Briere’s business. They’re not going to rise in price next summer, but there’s a market for these veterans right now. It makes all kinds of sense for this franchise to take some time to breathe, trade a few players and embrace the future.

Related: Philadelphia Flyers' Scott Laughton Cranks Up Trade Value With Huge Four-Goal Night

The Flyers clearly have talent worth building around. But landing another elite player – either up front or on defense – is not going to hurt them in any way. On the contrary – another foundational player would speed up the Flyers’ rebuild in a major way. And you only land that type of player via the draft.

This is why no Flyers fan would be mad at Briere if he decided to kick the can down the road into next season and adjust Philly’s lineup accordingly. Time will pass quickly, and next season will be here. Philadelphia will have its youngsters maturing, and at that point, they may have stronger stretches of hockey in them. But for now, the .500 mark is simply not good enough, and it’s all the reason Briere needs to deal away assets that can bring back better assets over the long haul.

The Flyers do have some elite players who are long-term fits, but in the competitive Metropolitan Division, you need more than just a couple of top players to earn a Stanley Cup playoff spot. You need elite depth, and that’s another thing you can get addressed when you draft players at the top part of the draft. But you have to acknowledge how far you still have to go.

That said, the Flyers are nearly there – maybe agonizingly nearly there – but patience remains a virtue with this group. And soon enough, there will be a true Cup contender in Philadelphia. Just not this year.

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