Briere: Flyers Will Try to Trade Ryan Johansen Before NHL Trade Deadline

Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere met with the media for a press conference on Thursday evening, discussing the Flyers’ trade deadline moves thus far, as well as Nick Seeler’s contract extension.

Briere shared that the Sean Walker trade “wasn’t an easy decision” for the Flyers to make, and acknowledged that Walker’s contributions to the team played a big part in getting the Flyers where they are right now. The Flyers, of course, got veteran center Ryan Johansen back from the Colorado Avalanche in that trade, but Briere doesn’t really see a fit for him in Philadelphia.

Johansen was assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL) earlier on Thursday, but the Flyers could move him ahead of Friday’s 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline.

“I’ll be honest, probably not,” Briere said when asked if Johansen was part of the Flyers‘ plans moving forward. “We’ll see if we can give him a chance to go somewhere else. We haven’t decided what the future looks like for him yet.

“He’s been reassigned this afternoon, yes, after he cleared waivers. We’re trying to see if there’s something we can do, maybe, if there’s another team that has a need for him. We’ve asked him to stand pat for a day or two.”

Johansen, 31, has struggled mightily this season after having previously undergone leg surgery last year. Johansen has 13 goals, 10 assists, and 23 points in 63 games with the Avalanche this year, and if the Flyers trade him again before Friday’s deadline, Johansen will be on his fourth team since June.

The Nashville Predators previously traded Johansen, with 50% salary retention, to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for the rights to Alex Galchenyuk, who was subsequently not retained by Nashville.

Johansen scored his 200th NHL goal on Dec. 29 in a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. The former Columbus Blue Jackets standout is 22 points away from 600 in his career and 85 games away from 1,000 in his career.

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