2. James van Riemsdyk - LW, Philadelphia Flyers
Were it not for his contract, JVR would profile as a classic buy-low/bad-fit target. An acquiring team can expect a strong net-front player who scores a
lot of goals; in the past three seasons he ranks 27th in 5v5 goals with 50 and 12th in 5v5 goals per sixty minutes. But he’s got three more years on his deal at $7M, which would be difficult for a team to absorb even under normal circumstances. On top of that, by playing him as a third liner this season and healthy scratching him in the playoffs, Philadelphia has ensured that his trade value will likely be negative.
van Riemsdyk was moved around the lineup a lot this season, spending no more than 10% of his ice time with any set combination of forwards. Nonetheless, he had strong underlying numbers, almost perfectly recovering to his 2017-18 form after some zero-calorie results in his first season with the Flyers. He was a major driver of offence and defence, and while his goal totals went down this season, that was mostly a function of diminished ice time.
In order to be effective, JVR needs to play with skilled guys who carry the puck and be stapled to the front of the net on the powerplay; he is fully wasted in a bottom six or a second PP unit. With Claude Giroux, Oskar Lindblom, and Joel Farabee on the left side it makes sense that the Flyers are ready to move on, but that doesn’t mean he’s washed up. That being said, a 31 year old net-front player with serious term and money left is a tough sell, and even with his strong analytical profile I would generally warn against acquiring a player of that age with that kind of contract. I think it’s more likely than not that the Flyers will have to figure out what to do with him on the roster.
Does It Make Sense to Trade Him? Yes, the Flyers have too many left wings ahead of him on the depth chart for $7M to make sense.