January 25, 2023 | 11:53am ET
By Anthony Di Marco, TheFourthPeriod.com

FLYERS NOT CHANGING PLANS AHEAD OF TRADE DEADLINE

James van Riemsdyk, forward

MONTREAL, QC — After a decent start to the season, the Philadelphia Flyers plummeted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standing following a 10-game losing streak at the end of November. That skid placed the Flyers where they “should be” in the standings, in the eyes of many, and was viewed as a correction after overachieving early on.

After winning eight of their last 14 games (9-4-1 record) and getting (somewhat) back into the wildcard race, some have wondered whether the Flyers will consider changing their plans as the trade deadline approaches.

According to a team source, the Flyers have not had their view change in light of their recent success and the plan is to sell some players between now and March 3rd.

One player who has been rumoured to be on the trade block is left wing James van Riemsdyk, and I was told on Tuesday the Flyers still expect to move him by the deadline.

van Riemsdyk, 33, is on an expiring contract with an AAV of $7 million. He has eight goals and 21 points through 29 games this season. A team like the Calgary Flames, assuming they can stay in the playoff picture, will likely come calling on van Riemsdyk in the coming weeks.

Other pending UFAs are defenseman Justin Braun and forward Patrick Brown, and while neither will fetch a mega return, both will be up for grabs for teams looking to bolster their depth.

A more interesting (and expensive) name is forward Kevin Hayes, who I reported two weeks ago the Flyers are open to trading.

Hayes, 30, has three years remaining on his deal beyond this season and carries an AAV of a little more than $7.1 million; his deal also includes a 12-team no-trade list. Hayes is in the midst of a career year, with 15 goals and 44 points through 48 games this season. Going back to the beginning of last season, Hayes has 25 goals and 75 points over his last 96 games.

I was told last month by the Western Conference executive that, given his production the last 12 months, there would be a market for Hayes. Asking a General Manager about this recently, he shared the same sentiment, but stressed the Flyers would have to retain money on Hayes’ contract to make a deal work.

A source close to the Flyers told me Tuesday the team is prepared to retain money on Hayes if they can get a half-decent return for the Boston native. In other words, the Flyers are not going to “dump” Hayes simply for salary cap space – they want value back for the player.

While Hayes is overpaid, I can’t blame the Flyers for feeling this way. His production over the last 12 months, specifically, has been the best of his career and has produced well during his time with the Flyers. In 220 regular-season games with the Flyers, Hayes has tallied 147 points – a 54-55 points per 82 game rate. The Flyers could use the cap relief, but they can’t throw away a player who has proven to be a 55-point player and is having a career year for nothing.

I’m led to believe the Flyers will have to make Hayes a $4 million to $5 million player in order for them to get a good return. But given what second line centres are going for these days (refer to what Ryan Strome and Vincent Trotcheck signed for last summer) getting Hayes in the $4.5 million range would be good bang for your buck.

The Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes are teams that could come calling on Hayes closer to the trade deadline, but don’t be surprised if it spills into the offseason.

Flyers hanging on to Provorov?

The last two weeks have been interesting for defenseman Ivan Provorov. First, his name was thrown out in the rumour mill. Next, he made a very controversial decision not to take part in the Flyers’ Pride Night warm-up, refusing to wear the jersey inspired by the event.

Lost in all of this – and rightfully so – is Provorov’s on-ice play, which has been very good since the calendar flipped to January and he has found a groove alongside sophomore Cam York. He has been a net-positive across the board analytically and has registered two goals and three assists over that stretch.

Speaking with a source, the Flyers feel they have to keep Provorov at this point given how well he has played.

As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested two weeks ago, a Provorov deal was not imminent, so this news does not come as a major shock. The Flyers do not have an in-house replacement to take on Provorov’s workload, averaging 23:07 minutes per game. And, albeit in a small sample size, he and York have played like a solid top pair the last several weeks; I can’t imagine the Flyers are in a hurry to break that up with no other help on the way.

I also wonder if Provorov’s actions on Pride Night scared some teams off, as it turned into a PR nightmare for the Flyers.

Should the Flyers re-engage in talks to move him, there will be a significant market for Provorov given the level he has played in the past and how durable a player he has proven to be. Since entering the NHL in 2016, Provorov has only missed games due to non-symptomatic Covid-19, which is especially impressive given how much ice time he has consistently logged over his career.

On the “Snow the Goalie” Podcast earlier this month, Crossing Broad’s Anthony SanFilippo reported the Los Angeles Kings made an offer for Provorov; the Flyers countered and have put the ball in the Kings’ court. According to SanFilippo, the Flyers’ want a “top-six forward, either with a pedigree or one that projects” to fill a need up front.

Quinton Byfield is a name I’ve heard through the grapevines the Flyers have zeroed in on when it comes to Los Angeles.

Byfield, 20, was drafted second-overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. He has yet to carve out a consistent NHL job to this point, having played just 63 total games over the last three seasons; he has six goals and 11 assists over his career.

According to TFP’s David Pagnotta and Dennis Bernstein, however, tthe Kings are not prepared to entertain trading Byfield at the moment. If that is the case, and the Flyers are truly not going to budge on their ask for the native of Newmarket, Ontario, it may be a stand off between both sides until one blinks.

The Kings have been in the market for a left shot rearguard for quite awhile. Having been attached to Jakob Chychrun for over a year, Provorov would virtually check the same box for the Kings as the former would: a left shot defenceman in his mid-20s with cost certainty for a few years with a top-pairing pedigree. Provorov is one year older than Chychrun and carries an AAV of $2.15 million richer per season. With the Coyotes refusing to budge on their astronomical ask for the latter, could the Kings set their sights on the Flyers’ defender?

As I mentioned on “The Hot Stove” on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio two Saturdays ago, any team that has expressed interest in Chychrun should be expected to come calling on Provorov given the players’ similarities.

One interesting team is the Edmonton Oilers, who seem to be getting more desperate to add ahead of a playoff run – or for a playoff berth – before the trade deadline.

Forward Jesse Puljujarvi has been on the trade block for almost a year now and there have been rumblings as to the Oilers’ willingness to part with one of young defenders Evan Bouchard or Philip Broberg. Could the Oilers be desperate enough to put together a package involving some of the aforementioned players to obtain Provorov?

The Oilers project to have a little more than $300,000 in salary cap space by the Trade Deadline, so it would take some financial gymnastics to acquire Provorov and his $6.75 million AAV in-season, but it could be an interesting landing spot if Oilers GM Ken Holland is able to make it work financially.

But again, all this has been put on hold for the time being, as the Flyers look like they’ll be hanging onto the player for now.

Provorov, 26, is in the fourth year of his six-year, $40.5 million contract he signed in 2019. He has three goals and 15 assist in 49 games this season.