Ranking the Flyers' Best Trade & Free-Agent Targets Among Defensemen

Injures have hit the Philadelphia Flyers' defense hard this season. Now the question is, what does general manager Ron Hextall do about it? Here is a look at the five top options for the Flyers to help fill the void on the blue line. They can be filled within the organization, via free agency or via trade.

The injuries to the Philadelphia defense started over the summer when veteran Kimmo Timonen was lost due to blood clots. Timonen is out for an indefinite amount of time and may never play in the NHL again.

Just last week, the Flyers announced that Brayden Coburn and Andrew MacDonald would each be out for at least four weeks due to injuries they had suffered.

The Flyers called up highly touted prospect Shayne Gostisbehere from the AHL. "Ghost" made his NHL debut against the Detroit Red Wings last Saturday, but Hextall left the door open for a possible trade or free-agent signing because he prefers to bring his young defensemen along slowly.

"In a perfect world, you let the kid stay there and play, but we don't live in a perfect world," Hextall told Frank Seravalli of The Philadelphia Daily News. "You know, you come up with a plan and vision and sometimes you have to adjust and be flexible."

The Flyers have some limitations, with the biggest one being of the financial variety. According to CapGeek.com, the team has very little room to maneuver under the cap. This means Hextall has a limited budget to sign free agents and would have to give up significant salary in any trade that would bring back a high-profile defenseman in return.

That means that most of the realistic solutions will be short-term moves designed to keep the team afloat until the veterans are healthy enough to return and/or the prospects are ready to join the big club.

The options are listed in order of ease, with the most conservative and least costly move listed at No. 5 and the most aggressive and risky move listed at No. 1.

Feel fee to comment on any of the players listed here or to add anyone you feel belongs on this list but was omitted. As always, indicate why you feel the way you do.

In the short term, the Flyers called up prospect Shayne Gostisbehere last Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings.

It was Gostisbehere's NHL debut. Flyers head coach Craig Berube limited the rookie to just 12:27 of ice time. He finished with one shot on goal and was a minus-one for the game.

The Flyers have to hope that Gostisbehere's role expands as Berube grows more comfortable with him and confident in his ability to play in the NHL.

If Gostisbehere doesn't work out, the Flyers could also call up 22-year-old Mark Alt or Robert Hagg, who has five points in his first six games in the AHL.

Hextall has said he doesn't want to rush his defensive prospects, per Randy Miller of NJ.com, but he may not have much choice. Sometimes, a spate of injuries forces a team to change its plans.

One option for the Flyers is to stick to players within their system and try to survive the next four weeks without MacDonald and Coburn.

The Flyers recently expressed an interest in signing veteran defenseman Ryan Whitney, as reported by Frank Seravalli of The Philadelphia News.

Whitney spent most of last year in the AHL, but he does have extensive NHL experience. The 31-year-old Boston native has played 481 career games with four different NHL teams. Whitney has scored 50 goals and 259 points, including a career best 59 points back in 2006-07 with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Whitney signed with the KHL for this season, but Seravalli reported that he has an escape clause in his contract if he joins an NHL club. As of now, however, it appears he plans to stay in Europe.

Whitney is a journeyman who would add depth for this season only. He is not a log-term solution to the Flyers' defensive woes. But Whitney could easily serve as a depth defenseman once everybody returns to the lineup or after a more significant deal is made. He won't cost much and is a capable seventh or eighth defenseman.

Long Island native Mike Komisarek is another veteran free agent who has has yet to sign with an NHL team this season.

Komisarek was in training camp with the New Jersey Devils, so he should be pretty close to game shape if the Flyers decided to sign him.

The 32-year-old veteran played 32 games last season with the Carolina Hurricanes. He had four assists and was a minus-four, which is not bad on a team that struggled to win hockey games.

Komisarek isn't much of an offensive threat. He has scored only 14 goals and 81 points in 551 career NHL games. His strength is his play in his own zone, something the Flyers could use.

Hextall could call on Komisarek to be a seventh or eighth defenseman once MacDonald and Coburn return to the lineup. He wouldn't cost much and could fit right into the lineup. He would be a low-risk, low-cost (but low-reward) move if the Flyers chose to sign him.

There are no rumors out there now, but it would make a lot of sense for both teams if the Flyers could acquire Brian Strait from the New York Islanders.

The Islanders have some depth on defense since they acquired Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy prior to the start of the season. They also have youngsters who can be called up from the AHL to replace Strait such as Griffin Reinhart, who started the season on the NHL roster.

Strait has a cap hit of only $775,000 and is under contract for this season and next season at the same rate, according to CapGeek.com. That means the Flyers can fit Strait under the cap, and the Islanders also have some cap room if the two clubs can work out a bigger deal.

If not, the Islanders may want to add some additional picks in the 2015 NHL draft since they've already traded away their first- and second-round selections in what most experts consider will be a deep draft.

Strait is 26 and is at best a third-pair or depth defenseman. But he's steady, smart and can fill in on the second pairing or the penalty kill on occasion.

While the Islanders and Flyers are division rivals, Isles general manager Garth Snow played for the Flyers, and the two clubs have made a pair of trades in recent years that sent the rights to Mark Streit and Andrew MacDonald to Philadelphia.

This would be a short-term and inexpensive solution for Hextall and the Flyers, and the right trade could help both teams meet their respective needs.

Tyler Myers may be the best long-term fit for the Flyers, but he may be the toughest player on this wish list to acquire.

Myers is only 24 and as a big defenseman, he may just be entering his prime. The native of Houston, Texas, stands 6'8" and weighs 220 pounds. He has the potential to become a big man who can help clear opponents from the crease and can contribute a bit offensively as well.

The big problem with Myers is salary. According to CapGeek.com, his cap hit is $5.5 million and he is signed through the end of the 2018-19 season.

In order to trade for Myers, the Flyers would have to shed some significant contracts to get under the salary cap. That may mean including Brayden Schenn as part of the package going back to the Buffalo Sabres, something that Hextall probably would rather not do.

But if he does trade Brayden Schenn, it would be part of a big deal, according to Hockey Night in Canada's Elliotte Friedman. Hextall "believes he’s not going to make one of those short-term fix moves that the Flyers are famous for," Friedman said last Friday on 630 CHED radio (transcribed by NicholsOnHockey.com). "And he’s going to do things properly. So if he’s trading Brayden Schenn, then he’s doing it for a long-term fix."

It would take a lot to land Myers, but the possibility exists if the stars align just right for Hextall to pull off a blockbuster.