Flyers' History: Grade The 2024 Trade Deadline

[Ghosts Beer]

I went with B but its a B-

The most important trade was getting a 1st for Walker.

I also enjoyed getting a 5th for retaining on Hanifin in that deal.

I like swapping Allison for Gurianov. The league needs more of these low-risk change of scenery trades. There used to be WAY more of these. More often than not, they amount to nothing. But sometimes, something fun happens like you acquire a guy and he pops off for 5 goals in 3 games (before disappearing again) and its temporarily entertaining.

I am not pleased with trading a 4th for a washed Johnson.

I do wish they traded Laughton but looking at the market, I suspect no team meant their asking price of a 1st and I would not have been happy with a 2nd. They can still look to move him in the summer or next season.

This is a reasonable take from someone I usually disagree with.

 

[freakydallas13]

WTF do people expect?

There were three first-round picks traded around the deadline this season. The Flyers got one of them. For Sean Walker and retention on Johansen for a year.

And trading a 4th for Erik Johnson drops 34% of the votes to below average? And 80% of the votes to average or worse?

Not trading a pick for EJ?
Trading Laughton?
Not signing Seeler for 4 years?

Seem like no brainer moves for a rebuilding team.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

Not trading a pick for EJ?
Trading Laughton?
Not signing Seeler for 4 years?

Seem like no brainer moves for a rebuilding team.

I wouldn't have traded the 4th for EJ, but I understand the reasoning. If a 4th round pick falls out of your pocket, it's like losing a dollar. Big deal.

Not trading Laughton? For what? Because Guentzel and Toffoli are better players. I can do without a 2nd rd pick, or at least putting that off until the summer.

Seeler at $2.7M is not a negative. He's been good and that's a cheap contract.

 

[trostol]

C...very meh..very milquetoast

 

[mercury]

I went with B but its a B- for sure.

The most important trade was getting a 1st for Walker.

I also enjoyed getting a 5th for retaining on Hanifin in that deal.

I like swapping Allison for Gurianov. The league needs more of these low-risk change of scenery trades. There used to be WAY more of these. More often than not, they amount to nothing. But sometimes, something fun happens like you acquire a guy and he pops off for 5 goals in 3 games (before disappearing again) and its temporarily entertaining.

I am not pleased with trading a 4th for a washed Johnson.

I do wish they traded Laughton but looking at the market, I suspect no team meant their asking price of a 1st and I would not have been happy with a 2nd. They can still look to move him in the summer or next season.

I agree with all of this, except I understand the Johnson deal (even if I don't agree with it). However, they could have been more aggressive about Laughton earlier, and they should have gotten some type of backup goalie. I gave it a C, for being a mixed bag with only one really good move (Walker) and one decent acquisition of a minor asset for cap (Hanifin).

 

[Juicy Pop]

B just because they largely stuck with the goal of building for the future and didn't make any impactful mistakes

They did well to pick up a 1st instead of committing to a player that won't change the narrative

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

WTF do people expect?

There were three first-round picks traded around the deadline this season. The Flyers got one of them. For Sean Walker and retention on Johansen for a year.

And trading a 4th for Erik Johnson drops 34% of the votes to below average? And 80% of the votes to average or worse?

But they didn't get a first round pick for Walker. They added a draft pick and took on a dead salary to increase the value of the trade from whatever Walker was on his own to garnering a first round pick. And that's fine! It doesn't make the trade a home run, though. It's a good trade, as was getting involved in the Hanifin trade.

Everything else done around the deadline was irrelevant (Allison) or anywhere from not great (Seeler) to awful (Johnson)... plus, they put themselves right in the middle of choosing to stand by their word to focus on the rebuild or not piss off the room by helping the players in a playoff run. And guess what? They didn't do a good job of committing to either side of the argument.

From a futures standpoint, they are in a better place with an additional first round pick, but missed the opportunity to move players like Seeler, Laughton, and maybe even Frost.

The roster is decidedly worse after the deadline by replacing Walker with Johnson. They didn't address the gaping hole in the roster behind Ersson. They're still running two 4th lines at forward... with the difficult March schedule and injuries to the defense, they're in tough to be in a playoff spot as the games in hand for other teams catch up.

It's not a failure of a deadline, but it's not a solid win, either.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

But they didn't get a first round pick for Walker. They added a draft pick and took on a dead salary to increase the value of the trade from whatever Walker was on his own to garnering a first round pick. And that's fine! It doesn't make the trade a home run, though. It's a good trade, as was getting involved in the Hanifin trade.

Everything else done around the deadline was irrelevant (Allison) or anywhere from not great (Seeler) to awful (Johnson)... plus, they put themselves right in the middle of choosing to stand by their word to focus on the rebuild or not piss off the room by helping the players in a playoff run. And guess what? They didn't do a good job of committing to either side of the argument.

From a futures standpoint, they are in a better place with an additional first round pick, but missed the opportunity to move players like Seeler, Laughton, and maybe even Frost.

The roster is decidedly worse after the deadline by replacing Walker with Johnson. They didn't address the gaping hole in the roster behind Ersson. They're still running two 4th lines at forward... with the difficult March schedule and injuries to the defense, they're in tough to be in a playoff spot as the games in hand for other teams catch up.

It's not a failure of a deadline, but it's not a solid win, either.

Then SJ didn't get a 1st for Hertl. And Calgary didn't get a 1st for Hanifin.

People are acting like it was a sellers' market, and it's just not. Flyers did well to get a first for Walker, even if they had to take on Johansen's $4M next season.

They are one of THREE teams to acquire a first. And they did it for nothing but an expiring Walker and a brief absorption of salary. I gotta think that puts it in the "above average category."

 

[Beef Invictus]

Then SJ didn't get a 1st for Hertl. And Calgary didn't get a 1st for Hanifin.

People are acting like it was a sellers' market, and it's just not. Flyers did well to get a first for Walker, even if they had to take on Johansen's $4M next season.

They are one of THREE teams to acquire a first. And they did it for nothing but an expiring Walker and a brief absorption of salary. I gotta think that puts it in the "above average category."

But even if you ignore the actual returns, the Flyers approach was still problematic. They did a minimum to set themselves for the future while leaving several moves aside, and did nothing to help them now. The process remains suspect.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

Very "meh." Doesn't make me feel any worse about the front office but also doesn't make me feel any better.

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

Then SJ didn't get a 1st for Hertl. And Calgary didn't get a 1st for Hanifin.

People are acting like it was a sellers' market, and it's just not. Flyers did well to get a first for Walker, even if they had to take on Johansen's $4M next season.

They are one of THREE teams to acquire a first. And they did it for nothing but an expiring Walker and a brief absorption of salary. I gotta think that puts it in the "above average category."

San Jose didn't get a first for just Hertl. They had to add to up the value like the Flyers did to get theirs. You won't see me argue otherwise.

Calgary didn't give anything extra up, though, so not sure why that wouldn't count.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Process: D
Results: C. I probably would have gone with a C+ or B- before the Johnson debacle.

Feels reasonable to separate the two for thread purposes.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

Here's the way I see it:

Walker for a 1st and Johansen retained: A.

4th for Erik Johnson. Meh. Call it a C or D.

Overall: B.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

It’s a mixed bag for me. Some good, some bad and a questionable one.
C

 

[DancingPanther]

As is tradition, people are missing the point of being pissed about Johnson and/or the loss of a 4th rounder.

It's not Erik Johnson or the 4th round pick. It's not the trade itself. If the Panthers made this trade, we'd all say "yeesh" then move on. The fans would too. It's a very typical "gearing up" all in type move. In certain situations, this trade is a bad one, but it isn't a stupid one.

Enter the Flyers. They are not a team in this situation. They won't be for years, and they haven't been for many more years, yet they still make this trade. This is the crux of most of the disdain. It demonstrates management's hopeless evaluation YET AGAIN. Their view of the situation this team and other teams are in are, far more often than not, disconnected from reality. It's another dirty shirt in the pile of smelly laundry. The pile is so big and has been there for so long that mold and mildew are eating away at the fabric. They have proven to be directionless and stupid. It's not this trade that's the problem, it's the fundemental inability to grasp any organizational context that CAUSES a move like this that's the problem

 

[Tripod]

Buyers market?

I thought GM's overpay for RHD? After all a 4 million Risto EASILY gets a 2nd pick, I was told.

Odd how a sub 2.5 Walker needed a 5th added and a 1.5 year 4 mill cap dump to get more than a 2nd

 

[Striiker]

You don't understand why there would be optimism for our gm choosing to not resign a guy on an expiring deal, that was playing well for the team and wanted to be here and choosing instead to trade him at his peak value, and getting that value?

He then chose to re-sign a worse guy on an expiring deal, that was playing “well”, and wanted to be here at his peak value.

He also got poor value for Walker and then made multiple other mistakes.

If anything, this deadline has given more reason for pessimism because Briere has proven to neither be rebuilding nor able to get decent value in trades.

 

[flyersnorth]

Interesting deadline.

If I put myself in their shoes, I think they expected a poor record this year, a bottom 10 team. The team has exceeded expectations both in the standings, and also in some elements of their game (PK). There has been positive player development (Ersson, Tippett, Foerster, Zamula, York).

And the feisty underdog storyline is good. They found a narrative to rally around and it’s working for them.

So the deadline feels like a balancing act between continuing to collect positive assets and doing low-cost moves to support the players in an unexpected playoff push.

If that was their goal at the deadline, I think they struck a nice balance.

 

[Cody Webster]

If the maximum offer for Laughton was a 2nd rounder, then I'm glad Briere stuck to his guns. Laughton is still an option to be moved at the draft and I would imagine a few teams covet him. Laughton has actually increased his value over the last 3-4 weeks by not being as shit. Maybe that continues until the end of the season.

July 2023 - Laughton will have more value at the trade deadline.
March 2024 - Laughton will have more value at the draft.
July 2024 - Laughton will have more value at the trade deadline.
March 2025 - Laughton will have more value at the draft.
July 2025 - Laughton will have more value at the trade deadline.
March 2026 - Laughton was heavily coveted but the Flyers valued his leadership too much and the team reached a six year extension with him.
July 2026 - As we embark on a rebuild, we think Laughton's leadership is going to be really important to setting the culture we want to build.

This. How long have we been hearing this about Laughton.

They proved they have no idea what direction they're going. They aren't rebuilding and they aren't going for it. They're still stuck in the same exact spot they have been the last six years. So much for that new GM giving us new era of orange. It's still the same shit.

 

[Appleyard]

Walker was traded at the deadline therefore of course it’s an evaluation of the deadline itself. That’s what the question means. If we want to evaluate everything based on the history that came before then how far back do we have to go? When Provorov was drafted? Might as well go back to 1967 since it all started then. Unless you want to go back to the beginning of the NHL.

This is a perfect example of people on here just nit-picking things to death. The Walker trade was the only really meaningful move the Flyers made at the deadline, and it was a good one.

The worst move was the one they didn’t make, trading Laughton. But oh well.

I will phrase it differently.

We all expected that Walker would get a 2nd+ at worst. The deal was solid itself. Nice.

Saying the deadline was great just because Walker cost nothing almost a year ago? I dont think that plays into it in any way.

 

[WIP CALLER]

I voted C for CULTURE since that seems to be priority 1 in their process. Can’t wait to raise the Culture Cup Champs banner next fall.

 

[Jack Straw]

I will phrase it differently.

We all expected that Walker would get a 2nd+ at worst. The deal was solid itself. Nice.

Saying the deadline was great just because Walker cost nothing almost a year ago? I dont think that plays into it in any way.

If I’m grading this deadline then I don’t care how Walker was acquired. Doesn’t matter if he fell to earth from the heavens above. The deadline (imo) was good almost entirely because they got a 1st for player who may or may not have been worth a first but who in any case, did not really fit in with what I understand the front office’s plans to be; that is, rebuilding.

If you want to evaluate Briere’s tenure as GM then sure, how he got Walker factors into that. But that’s a different question. And since he’s two days short of one year on the job I think it’s too early to judge him one way or the other.

 

[snoop88]

I truly think fundamentally the divide in this sub comes from people who wanted and or expected a Hinkie type teardown versus people who wanted and or expected a more traditional rebuild (some vets and not necessarily pushing for the worst record in the league).

I’m not gonna say one side is wrong and one is right. I would’ve preferred a complete Process teardown, but I recognize history has shown it’s not the only way.

 

[eramosat]

This poll would serve as a pretty good primer for new-ish forum visitors as to the wide range of opinions you can look forward too! Maybe it could be pinned for a while. Some gold, some dross...but not dull...your Flyer world-view will be challenged, no matter whatl!

 

[Sombastate]

It was a C. easily.

It was a team that sold but then also bought. It lacked direction. It didn't really help us long term or even short term. An extra first is nice. Everything else is very underwhelming