Flyers trade Michael Raffl to Washington Capitals

It’s past 3 o’clock, but deals are still being completed across the NHL. One of those deals involved the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Flyers traded Michael Raffl to the Washington Capitals, first reported by Chris Johnston.

The #caps are getting Michael Raffl from Philadelphia.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 12, 2021

The trade was made official around 4:30.

“The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired a fifth round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft from the Washington Capitals (previously acquired from Vegas) in exchange for forward Michael Raffl. The Flyers will retain 25% of the remaining salary on Raffl.”

Raffl was one of the Flyers few pending free agents. They re-signed Laughton and reportedly traded Erik Gustafsson already. Michael Raffl was the third name on our “Who could the Flyers sell?” list and Chuck Fletcher flipped him for a fifth-round pick.

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Raffl, 32, has been a fixture in the Flyers lineup since coming over from Austria in 2013. Whether it be on the first line or fourth line, Raffl played the same way. He drove play and chipped in offensively a bit as well. In recent years, Raffl has been in more of a bottom-six (mostly fourth-line) role, but it hasn’t affected him.

This season, Raffl only has eight points (three goals, five assists) in 35 games. He’s been averaging 20 points per season in the three years prior to that, with 60 points (27 goals, 33 assists) in 201 games –– a 24-point pace per 82 games (11 goals, 13 assists).

Raffl won’t put the team over the top, but he’ll be a nice depth addition for the Washington Capitals.

There are a few players that can fill the gap left by Raffl. Tanner Laczynski is already doing a pretty good job on the fourth line, with Wade Allison as another option.

The Flyers play the Capitals four more times this season. The lone meeting in Philadelphia is on Saturday afternoon.

Photo: Heather Barry Images