Flyers' Top Players to Target and Avoid at 2022 NHL Trade Deadline

The Philadelphia Flyers are enduring one of the worst seasons in franchise history, defined by injury problems and two losing streaks that have stretched into double digits. They are terrible to the extent CEO Dave Scott publicly stated, "I can tell you I'm angry. I know our fans are more than angry, and the whole organization's angry. We're sick of losing."

Add to that general manager Chuck Fletcher telling reporters that everything is on the table, and you have a team that is clearly set to be a seller before March 21's trade deadline.

But what should the club get in return for its key players, including a franchise legend whose love for the city remains strong?

Which scenario should they avoid?

Claude Giroux is the Philadelphia Flyers. He is their franchise star, a future Hall of Famer and a guy who has continued to play hard despite his team's collapse over the past two seasons. He is the best player available at the trade deadline.

And the Flyers should not make it easy on any team looking to acquire him.

Pierre LeBrun recently reported on TSN's Insider Trading that the team is looking for a multi-asset package in return for its celebrated captain. "A first, a young player and a prospect or certainly at least two assets with higher quality," he said of Philadelphia's asking price.

Any package that does not include a first-round pick should be avoided by the Flyers. The team needs help, and the best way to make a splash is via the draft.

There are young prospects or a blue-chipper here or there who may come in and make an immediate impact, but this is a franchise star who could help win a team a championship this year. Letting him go for anything less than a first-rounder when he is still a fine player and someone who has meant so much to the organization would be a massive loss for a team that does not have to trade Giroux.

The Colorado Avalanche are the team that has shown the most interest in acquiring Giroux, who would have to waive a no-move clause to be dealt. Their interest likely intensified with the recent injury to winger Gabriel Landeskog, which will require surgery.

The team has prospects it could dangle, but it does not have a first-round pick until 2023. Given the long-term vision for the Flyers, waiting a year to have that draft pick is unlikely to derail a potential move. With prospects like centers Shane Bowers, Jean-Luc Foudy and Alex Newhook, the Avalanche have the attractive pieces necessary for the Flyers to execute a deal.

It helps that Giroux favors the Avalanche too, according to Colorado Hockey Now's Adrian Dater (h/t Lyle Richardson for The Hockey News).

Any of those players, packaged with a first-round pick and one other young player, would make the bitter pill of trading away the team captain somewhat tolerable for the Flyers. Whether that will be enough is the question. Giroux may hold the keys to the trade by way of his no-move clause, but the team should not let him go for anything other than what it deems worthy. Nor should it.

Travis Sanheim is a great defenseman and one of the best puck-movers on the Flyers roster. The idea of trading him when he is one of the most surest things on the roster is almost ludicrous.

But the Flyers are in selling mode, and if they are eyeing a retool rather than a rebuild, they could use him to bring in younger prospects ready to contribute on an NHL squad immediately. The best team to make that happen? The Los Angeles Kings.

Sanheim would immediately become the best blueliner on the team, and his team-friendly $4.675 million-per-year contract should make him appealing to Los Angeles. That the Kings have so many quality defensive prospects make them the perfect partner to make the deal happen.

Sean Durzi has broken out this season with nine power-play points, and with his future with the team in question, would be a perfect piece for the Kings to dangle in front of the Flyers. He has 16 points in 13 games with the Ontario Reign of the AHL this season.

Of course, a guy who has appeared in only 43 career games with the Kings would not be nearly enough to persuade Philly to give up an above-average defenseman.

Tacking on center Jaret Anderson-Dolan could help necessitate the deal, especially given his 37 points in 39 games and 21.6 shooting percentage for the Reign.

Young players with plenty of upside are the key to the Flyers' future, and dealing Sanheim to a team in need of a player of his skill set would be a great way to help compose a roster that will have fans forgetting the past two seasons.

Justin Braun is a wily defenseman who has outplayed expectations. He is also nearing the end of his deal with the Flyers, making him the perfect candidate for a trade.

Luckily, there is a playoff-contending team north of the border in need of defensive help if it hopes to chase Lord Stanley's Cup.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, for all of their flash on the offensive side of the puck, need a greater defensive presence if they are to stand any chance of winning the team's first title since 1967. What they have is not working, with young players not cutting it and others regressing or not playing up to expectations.

The Leafs can win a shootout, but surviving those scrappier, grittier games that are hallmarks of the postseason has proved troublesome.

Enter Braun, whose reliability, defensive wherewithal and team-friendly deal make him an ideal target for the Maple Leafs. That Toronto has a young defender in Timothy Liljegren it can send back to Philadelphia only helps make the deal that much more of a possibility, especially since the team would have to dump a player (or two) to free up cap space if it hoped to acquire Braun.

If not Liljegren, Travis Dermott is another relatively young option who could step in and play valuable minutes for a Flyers team looking to round out another disappointing season.

Braun would give the team the veteran presence on the blue line that it has been missing, even if it means leaving a Flyers squad that also needs all the help it can get defensively.