Philadelphia Flyers

Roman Cechmanek, a former All-Star goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers, has died.

He was 52 years old. His death was confirmed Sunday by the Flyers.

The Flyers drafted Cechmanek, then 29 years old, in the sixth round of the 2000 NHL draft. He played three seasons in Philadelphia between 2000 and 2003.

Cechmanek finished his rookie campaign in 2001 with 35 wins, an All-Star nod and a second-place finish in Vezina Trophy voting.

He went on to win the William M. Jennings Trophy alongside Flyers goaltender Robert Esche in 2003 after the pair combined to allow the fewest goals in the NHL. That postseason, Cechmanek helped the Flyers to victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs and Hall of Famer Ed Belfour in the seven-game 2003 Eastern Conference Final.

Cechmanek ranked second in the NHL in regular-season goals-against average in each of his three seasons with the Flyers.

The goaltender played his final NHL season in 2003-04 for the Los Angeles Kings. He finished his NHL career with an overall 110-64-28 record, .919 save percentage and 2.08 goals-against average.

After leaving the NHL, Cechmanek played professionally in Czechia, Germany and Sweden before retiring following the 2007-08 season.

Cechmanek represented Czechia in the 1998 and 2002 Olympics and served as Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek's backup as the country won gold at the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan.

He also represented his country in seven World Championships between 1995 and 2007. Cechmanek in 2000 backstopped the team through eight games en route to gold medals in Russia.

Cechmanek is survived by his children Jakub, Roman Jr., and Katerina, per PhiladelphiaFlyers.com's Bill Meltzer.

Kevin Hayes is off to St. Louis.

The Philadelphia Flyers are trading Hayes to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round draft pick, the team announced Tuesday.

The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported the Flyers will retain 50 percent of Hayes' salary in the deal.

Hayes is under contract through the 2025-26 season worth $7.1 million annually.

The Flyers were initially reported to be sending Hayes, with salary retained, and defenseman Travis Sanheim to St. Louis in exchange for a first-round pick and an unnamed Blues defenseman, per The Athletic's Charlie O'Connor and Jeremy Rutherford.

However, the Blues defenseman was reportedly unwilling to waive his no-trade clause in the deal, so it appears Philadelphia had to pivot and accept what it could get for Hayes, who had been included in various trade rumors since last season.

The Flyers are currently in the midst of a major rebuild and Hayes is the second major casualty of the team's teardown after it traded defenseman Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a three-team deal on June 6.

Hayes spent the last four seasons of his career with the Flyers and was a major role player on offense, tallying 63 goals and 94 assists for 157 points in 253 games. His best season came in 2022-23 when he notched 18 goals and 36 assists for 54 points in 81 games.

Prior to joining the Flyers, Hayes began his career with the New York Rangers in 2014 and he also spent half a season with the Winnipeg Jets during the 2018-19 campaign. He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the 2010 draft but never played a game for the franchise.

In 634 games across nine seasons, Hayes has tallied 155 goals and 231 assists for 386 points.

After trading Ryan O'Reilly to the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, the Blues needed to bring in another veteran center this summer in an attempt to fill the void, and Hayes figures to play a key role in the team's offense alongside Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn, Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.

After finishing the 2022-23 season with a 37-38-7 record and missing the postseason, the Blues are bringing in Hayes with the hope that he can help the franchise better contend fro a playoff spot over the next several seasons.

As for the Flyers, new general manager Daniel Brière is expected to continue offloading assets this summer with eyes toward the future.

Sanheim, Scott Laughton and Tony DeAngelo have been mentioned as players that could be traded ahead of the 2023-24 season, according to Andy Strickland of Bally Sports. Goaltender Carter Hart has also been floated as a trade candidate.

The Tony DeAngelo-Carolina Hurricanes reunion is on the rocks because of a clause in the NHL's collective bargaining agreement.

The team is looking to reacquire the defenseman with a history of disciplinary issues whom it traded away nearly a year ago, but a salary-cap complication is the driving force behind the inability to complete the deal, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

The agreed-upon transaction had the Hurricanes sending a prospect to the Philadelphia Flyers for DeAngelo, with Philadelphia retaining 50 percent of his salary-cap hit. That means that DeAngelo, who has one year and $5 million remaining on his contract, would only count for $2.5 million against the Hurricanes' salary cap.

However, Rule 50.5 of the NHL CBA prohibits a team from trading a player and then reacquiring the player shortly after at a reduced cap hit because the previous franchise retained salary. The official wording of the rule is "under no circumstances may a Club reacquire, as part of a Retained Salary Transaction, the contract of a player who was on that Club's Reserve List within the past calendar year."

DeAngelo made $4.8 million when he played for Carolina in 2021-22.

If the Flyers were to not retain any of DeAngelo contract, the deal would be permissible. However, the Hurricanes have numerous players approaching a new contract, including star center Sebastian Aho who is set to be an unrestricted free agent after the 2023-24 season.

The team also has decisions to make at goaltender, as Pyotr Kochetkov is the only netminder currently under contract for next season.

DeAngelo scored 11 goals and had 42 points for the Flyers in 2022-23, but the team sputtered to a 31-38-13 record and missed the playoffs for third consecutive season and the fourth time in five years. New general manager Daniel Briere and President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones appear to be taking a rebuilding approach, so moving DeAngelo for a prospect is a value add.

The Hurricanes won the Metropolitan Division in 22-23 with 52-21-9 record and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals where they lost to the Florida Panthers in a sweep.

The Philadelphia Flyers were working to finalize a trade that would send veteran forward Kevin Hayes to the St. Louis Blues, according to The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford, but the deal now appears to be "in limbo."

Charlie O'Connor and Rutherford reported Saturday that the Flyers planned to send Hayes and defenseman Travis Sanheim to the Blues in exchange for a first-round pick and an unnamed Blues defenseman. Philadelphia would retain part of Hayes' salary in the deal.

However, the unnamed Blues defenseman has invoked his no-trade clause and the deal remains up in the air.

Hayes, who has been included in trade rumors since midway through the 2022-23 season, has three more years on his contract worth $7.1 million annually and won't become an unrestricted free agent until 2026.

Hayes has spent the last four seasons of his career in Philadelphia and was a staple in the team's lineup, tallying 63 goals and 94 assists for 157 points in 253 games. His best season with the franchise came in 2022-23 when he notched 18 goals and 36 assists for 54 points—one short of his career high—in 81 games.

The 31-year-old began his career with the New York Rangers in 2014 and he also played for the Winnipeg Jets.

If traded to St. Louis, Hayes figures to become one of the team's top centers alongside Brayden Schenn, Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas. After moving Ryan O'Reilly to the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, the Blues needed to fill the void this summer.

After finishing the 2022-23 season with a 37-38-7 record and missing the playoffs, Hayes should help the Blues better contend for a postseason spot in 2023-24 and beyond.

As for the Flyers, they are in complete teardown mode under new general manager Daniel Brière after missing the playoffs for three straight seasons.

Parting ways with Hayes will be the second major move for the Flyers this summer after trading defenseman Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a three-team deal that also involved the Los Angeles Kings.

Scott Laughton and Tony DeAngelo are among the other names to be mentioned as players that could be traded by the Flyers this summer, according to Andy Strickland of Bally Sports.

Goaltender Carter Hart has also been floated as a potential trade candidate.

The Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings have finalized a three-team trade that includes defenseman Ivan Provorov and goaltender Cal Petersen.

The Flyers are sending Provorov to the Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 second-round pick (via the Kings) and a conditional 2024 second-round pick (via the Blue Jackets), they announced Tuesday.

Philadelphia is also receiving Petersen and defensemen Sean Walker and Helge Grans. Los Angeles is retaining 30 percent of Provorov's salary and will also receive defenseman Kevin Connauton and forward Hayden Hodgson from Philadelphia.

To recap, here's a breakdown of what each team has landed in this deal:

Philadelphia Flyers

• Goaltender Cal Petersen
• Defenseman Sean Walker
• Defenseman Helge Grans
• 2023 first-round pick, No. 22 overall (from CBJ)
• 2024 second-round pick (from LAK)
• 2024 conditional second-round pick (from CBJ)

Columbus Blue Jackets

• Defenseman Ivan Provorov

Los Angeles Kings

• Forward Hayden Hodgson
• Defenseman Kevin Connauton
• Retain 30 percent of Provorov's salary

Philadelphia's decision to shake things up comes as little surprise after the franchise made changes to the front office following a disappointing 2022-23 campaign in which the team missed the playoffs for the third straight season.

When the Flyers officially removed the interim tag and named Daniel Brière their new general manager last month alongside new president of hockey operations Keith Jones, the former NHLer said no one on the franchise's roster was safe this summer.

"The position that we're in right now, we have to listen," Brière said during an appearance on 94.1 WIP in May, per Ryan Quigley of The Hockey News. "There's a lot of good young players on our team, but at the same time, if it's better for the organization to move in a different direction, we have to listen. There's no one that's above the team, and I'm gonna listen on everyone.

"Now, I expect most of our young guys, including Carter Hart, to be back, but I have to be fair for the organization and the fans to listen if there's a better offer elsewhere."

Provorov had been included in various trade rumors leading up to this season's deadline. TSN's Darren Dreger reported in March that the Flyers were taking calls on the veteran defenseman, adding that it would "take a large offer to move him."

The Flyers selected Provorov seventh overall in the 2015 draft, and he quickly emerged as one of the team's top-four defensemen. In 532 games across seven seasons, he notched 65 goals and 152 assists while averaging 24:05 of time on ice.

The 26-year-old is coming off a 2022-23 season in which he tallied six goals and 21 assists in 82 games. He's signed through the 2024-25 season on a deal worth $6.75 million annually.

With Zach Werenski on the top pairing, Provorov figures to slot into Columbus's second defense pairing in 2023-24 alongside Adam Boqvist.

In Petersen, the Flyers are getting a potential replacement for Hart. The 28-year-old has spent his entire five-year career with the Kings and is coming off a 2022-23 season in which he posted a 5-3-2 record, a 3.75 goals-against average and an .868 save percentage in 10 games.

Petersen isn't the same caliber player as Hart, but moving on from the latter would be a no-brainer if the Flyers can receive some significant assets in exchange for the netminder that can help accelerate their rebuild.

Petersen is under contract through the 2024-25 season on a deal worth $5 million annually. The Kings were likely happy to move on from him to free up the cap space to re-sign pending free-agent defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov this summer.

The Philadelphia Flyers announced Thursday they hired Daniel Brière as their next general manager.

Keith Jones will take over as the president of hockey operations as well.

"With this new Flyers leadership in place, we are committed to a collaborative approach on and off the ice," said team governor Daniel J. Hilferty. "The five leaders of the business and hockey operations will work in lockstep across all areas to restore the winning tradition of Flyers Hockey."

Philadelphia had named Brière the interim GM in March following the ouster of Chuck Fletcher, who held both the general manager and president of hockey operations titles.

Brière played 17 years in the NHL, including six with the Flyers. After retiring, he was the team president for the ECHL's Maine Mariners and worked as a special assistant to Fletcher.

With the trade deadline having already passed, there wasn't much work Brière could accomplish on an interim basis as the GM. He indicated he was hopeful of taking over in a more permanent capacity.

"I don't have a problem with the interim tag," he told reporters. "I think [ownership is] going to take the proper time to evaluate who should be full-time in that position. I see myself staying here and being part of the future. I hope they believe in me as well. It feels that way."

The Flyers finished seventh in the Metropolitan Division and collected the seventh-fewest points in the NHL (75) to miss the playoffs for the third straight year. When he replaced Fletcher, Brière said Philly "isn't a quick fix" and getting the franchise back to contention is "going to take a little while."

Now, the 45-year-old will have the opportunity to help guide that process.

Like Brière, Jones is a familiar face to Flyers fans. In addition to ending his playing career in Philly, he has been a longtime broadcaster for the team and was part of TNT's NHL coverage for the past two seasons.

As it became clear this was how Philadelphia planned to structure its front office, The Athletic's Charlie O'Connor raised some concerns, namely the lack of experience between Brière and Jones.

Aside from his brief interim GM tenure, Brière hasn't operated in a high-level executive position within the NHL. Jones isn't the sort of seasoned hand who can guide him in the transition, either.

O'Connor also wondered whether the Flyers would've benefited from looking outside the organizational bubble.

As much as Hilferty will try to present this as a new era for the franchise, plenty of fans will probably feel the Brière/Jones combo is just more of the same.