WALKER HOPING TO STAY IN PHILLY

As the NHL creeps past the quarter mark on the 2023-24 regular-season, the Philadelphia Flyers have continued to turn heads. Sitting third in the Metropolitan Division with 28 points as of Tuesday morning, the Flyers have sustained an impressive level of play well past the much talked about American Thanksgiving mark; they are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.

Of all the individual impressive play, none has been more (pleasantly) surprising than Sean Walker, who through the first 25 games has averaged the third most amount of ice time among Flyers’ defenders at 5v5.

Walker, 29, was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in a three-way deal that landed Ivan Provorov in Columbus. His $2.65 million salary cap hit was thought to be a throw-in of sorts to make the money work on the Kings’ end, but his play has proven him to be a “top four defenseman, all day long,” as one member of the Flyers said to me.

Through 25 games, Walker has continued to track as arguably the team’s best defenseman and has registered three goals and 11 points; his career highs were five and 24, respectively, in 2019-20 with the Kings.

Walker’s newfound success and career resurgence has seemed to sit well with the player, too.

According to several sources, Walker has enjoyed his time with the Flyers and is hoping to re-sign with the club, providing the two sides can come to an agreement. The Flyers have mutual interest in retaining Walker and believe he could be a good veteran presence as the team brings in younger blueliners in the coming years. The two sides have yet to discuss what a contract could look like, so suggesting anything in regard to term and/or money would be premature at this point.

The team is still in the process of evaluating the pros and cons to retaining Walker, including what the player can fetch via trade. Speaking with a team source Monday night, it was reiterated to me that the Flyers would want a first-round draft pick or similar value if they are to part with Walker.

Right shot defensemen are hard to come by, and with the exception of Calgary Flames rearguard Chris Tanev, Walker is projected to be the top one available in the market between now and the Trade Deadline.

As the Flyers evaluate their options, I wonder if the future of Rasmus Ristolainen has a direct impact on Walker’s tenure with the Flyers.

Ristolainen, 29, is in the second year of a five-year, $25.5 million contract he signed in 2022. Once considered an analytics disaster, Ristolainen’s game has done a 180 under Head Coach John Tortorella and Associate Coach Brad Shaw, and has seen his play trend in the right direction over the last 12 months, including his five games this season since missing the first 20 due to injury.

While Ristolainen may be slightly overpaid – he’s a $3.5 million to $4 million player in today’s market, according to several people in the game I’ve spoken with – he is still valued throughout the league, especially for playoff play. One team believed to have internal interest in Ristolainen is the Toronto Maple Leafs, though trade discussions between the two sides have not yet materialized.

On the “32 Thoughts” podcast Monday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned the Leafs’ desire to add a right shot defenseman with grit and toughness, similar to what Luke Schenn brought to their backend last year at the Deadline. Tanev is believed to be their main target, but should they strike out, could they turn to Ristolainen? As Friedman mentioned, Walker does not seem to be a player of interest to the Leafs, at this time.

The Toronto market has been clamoring for an Erik Cernak/Josh Manson type of defenseman for quite some time – it has been amplified since Jake Muzzin’s career came to a premature end due to injury. The Leafs have also consistently struggled to find a right shot to play alongside Morgan Reilly, a spot that has been occupied primarily by (left shot) T.J. Brodie since 2021.

Toronto only has $10.6 million committed to their blueline beyond this season to three defensemen (Reilly, Jake McCabe and Connor Timmins) and will need to round out their defensive corps in time. Ristolainen’s price tag may not be perfect, but he’s certainly one of the closest facsimiles to Cernak or Manson.

What Toronto is willing to give up for help on defense is unclear at this point, according to two separate league executives, as there is a belief that they are still internally evaluating what their team is and how “all in” they should go this season. There is a thought they could explore moving David Kampf and his $2.4 million AAV (until 2027) to give them some cap flexibility. As Friedman mentioned, the main hiccup in trade talks between the Leafs and Flames regarding a potential move for Nikita Zadorov, who was dealt to Vancouver, was salary-related.

Other teams mentioned to me as potential fits for Ristolainen were the Flames and Winnipeg Jets, as both teams have several pending UFA defensemen and have had trouble retaining players. Could a defenseman with term be of interest to either? Time will tell as we get a better feel for the market.