One Flyers Trade Possibility Nobody is Considering

Monday saw factions of Philadelphia Flyers social media groups recede back into a full-blown meltdown.

Why, you might ask? For no reason other than the burgeoning controversy surrounding the Flyers’ plans for the 2024 NHL trade deadline.

Reports emerged over the weekend that the Flyers brass met with the agent of defenseman Sean Walker, Cam Stewart, in Toronto last week. The two sides reportedly didn’t make concrete progress one way or another, though there remains the possibility that Philadelphia signs their ace rearguard to a contract extension at some point.

Therein lies the issue. Some fans are extremely pro-rebuild, and the possibility that the Flyers do not trade Walker is extremely frightening to them. With the way the team has been built and repeatedly demolished in the past, the concern is a valid one.

Here’s the thing: the Flyers could end up trading Walker and signing him to a new contract in the summer. Indeed, if the 29-year-old truly loves Philadelphia and his teammates and is convinced of the project, Walker could always re-sign with the team as an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

Whichever team acquires Walker is not obligated to keep him, nor is the defenseman obligated to stay.

Remember Antoine Vermette, the journeyman center perhaps most revered for his time with the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes? Well, Arizona traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks for Klas Dahlbeck and a first-round pick at the 2015 NHL trade deadline.

Then Vermette returned to Arizona on the first day of free agency, signing a two-year deal on July 1, 2015.

Who’s to say the Flyers can’t work out a handshake agreement with Walker and his representation like that?

Plus, if Philadelphia managed to get a first-round pick and extend Walker in the summer, I’m sure fans on both sides of the fence would be overjoyed. There would be no loser that way.

This is just some food for thought and a friendly reminder that not everything you hear this time of year is true.

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