Flyers Defensemen Impress in NHL Trade Deadline Audition

The Philadelphia Flyers might have lost to the New Jersey Devils in the Stadium Series game at MetLife Stadium on Saturday night, but two of their key defensemen won ahead of the 2024 NHL trade deadline.

Slowly but surely, the NHL trade deadline is now just under three weeks away. For some players around the league, the stakes around this time of the year are higher than ever.

Part of that group might include Flyers defensemen Nick Seeler and Sean Walker.

With just two games scheduled this week, it’s possible that Seeler and Walker, who have spent the whole season as the Flyers’ second defense pairing, are playing their last games as representatives of Philadelphia (for this season, at least).

The Flyers host the New York Rangers on Feb. 24 and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 27. For teams inquiring about Seeler or Walker, this could be the last chance for inquiring teams to see how the duo fares against a Stanley Cup contender. The Flyers will also travel to face the Florida Panthers, but that game takes place on March 7 – one day before the NHL trade deadline.

If someone is being or is likely to be traded, there’s a meager chance that they will play in that game against Florida. Head coach John Tortorella was adamant that he and the club will continue to do what’s best for the future when discussing the Flyers trade rumors, and part of that includes protecting the integrity of a deal in the works.

As for Seeler and Walker, they passed their first – and possibly last – test against a contending-caliber Devils team on Saturday. Travis Sanheim and Cam York couldn’t really get off the ground at 5-on-5 against New Jersey, but Seeler and Walker, alongside Egor Zamula, dominated the shot-attempt share when on the ice.

Diving deeper, Walker out-chanced the Devils 10-4 when on the ice, and was on the ice for five high-danger chances for while only allowing two against. Seeler, who also scored a timely goal, was precisely the same, except he was on the ice for six high-danger chances for instead of five.

On a night when things went sour rather quickly for the Flyers in the 6-3 loss, Seeler and Walker were amongst the few standouts in Orange and Black. Tortorella does not believe that either player actually wants to be traded, but that remains to be seen.

The Flyers will have the next few weeks to decide that for themselves.

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