Report: Flyers Monitoring Defensemen Trade Market

It’s no secret that the Philadelphia Flyers are in at the blue line. The team’s bottom pair is a serious weak spot for the team.

Now, top-pair defenseman Cam York is joining Rasmus Ristolainen on the IR to start the season. Emil Andrae, a once highly touted prospect, seems to be stuck in the AHL due to his 5’9” frame and the Flyers’ lack of size. Not to mention, Adam Ginning, Egor Zamula, Noah Juulsen, and Dennis Gilbert all struggled mightily throughout camp and preseason.

Defense has very quickly become a major area of concern for the Philadelphia Flyers.

In his recent Written 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman reports that the Flyers are monitoring the defensemen market.

“Not sure we’re going to see much trade action too early, but Philadelphia is definitely checking what’s out there on defence,” Friedman wrote.

A trade early in the season seems unlikely. Once the season gets underway, roster shuffling is going to slow down while teams begin to figure out what they have on their roster, and where they stand early in the year.

One thing to keep in mind for the Flyers currently is their newfound cap flexibility after the Ryan Ellis trade. The Flyers, with Dennis Gilbert on the active roster, have just over $6.6 million in cap space.

Andrae could also be a trade chip used to acquire a defenseman that fits what the team is looking for. Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff reported that the Flyers are not actively shopping Andrae, but are open to the idea of trading him.

Could we see the Flyers trade the roadblocked Andrae to bolster their blueline with size?

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