Flyers Daily News
Bailey’s Daily: Flyers Draft Interviews; Martin Necas Trade Talk
In Saturday’s edition of Bailey’s Daily, we’ll be talking the latest Philadelphia Flyers news, NHL news, stories, highlights, and more from the last day.
Flyers News
The Philadelphia Flyers finished their NHL Scouting Combine interviews last week and, thanks to our friend, Russ Cohen, we have a better idea of who and what the Flyers are looking at in the 2024 NHL Draft. But are they on the right track? Recent history and the available evidence says the Flyers’ sniffers are onto something here.
The Florida Panthers, meanwhile–with the help of several former Flyers–are cruising towards what appears to be the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup. How have they managed? It took some constant retooling around core players like Sasha Barkov and Aaron Ekblad, buoyed by luck with the acquisitions of Sergei Bobrovsky, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, and others.
The Flyers can do that, can’t they? And speaking of Barkov, there’s a Finnish forward at the top of this year’s draft who plays kind of similarly…
Also, Flyers captain Sean Couturier disclosed on the “Nasty Knuckles” podcast on Thursday that he underwent surgery this offseason, this time to repair a sports hernia he suffered during the season. That marks his third notable surgery in two years.
NHL News
According to a report, the basement-dwelling Montreal Canadiens are one of several teams inquiring about the status of disgruntled Carolina Hurricanes RFA forward Martin Necas. The Canadiens are one of four teams who have displayed genuine interest, though none of the four have made an offer up to par for Carolina.
Nashville Predators goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, the winner of 56 regular season games over the last two years, has been named to the AHL Top Prospects Team as this season’s No. 1 goalie prospect. Flyers fans are probably wondering what that’s like… though newcomer Alexei Kolosov offers some hope for the future.
Trying to compare the Panthers development toward a Stanley Cup and where the Flyers are currently at can be frustrating. For one, the Panthers would not be where they are without two major trades….. July 2021, Sam Reinhart was traded by the Sabres to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Devon Levi and a 2022 first-round pick….and then the second major trade….and almost exactly a year later… July 2022…they acquired forward Matthew Tkachuk in a blockbuster deal with the Calgary Flames.
We have been continually told the Flyers plan on no major trades in their rebuild. I believe that is a mistake….out there is Mitch Marner…..who can be first fiddle in Philly vs third fiddle in Toronto. And maybe that is a start on the road to Stanley Cup success like the Panthers are seeing now. Just sayin’.