Flyers Add Veteran Depth Players for Postseason Push

The Philadelphia Flyers are right in the thick of things in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference Playoff race. The Flyers didn’t make the splashy moves like their Metropolitan Division foes did, but the moves they made at the NHL Trade Deadline will help this team in the long run. The team acquired veteran forwards Nate Thompson and Derek Grant in two separate trades. 

Every trade has its pros and cons, but let’s focus on the positives these two players will bring to the Flyers. They were inexpensive options since the team was already up against the salary cap. The forwards bring even more versatility to the Flyers’ lineup. The trade will help an already decent penalty kill be even better, and they won’t block the young kids from being a part of the Flyers in the future.

SALARY CAP LIMITATIONS & YOUNG KIDS

The Flyers didn’t have much cap space going into NHL Trade Deadline Day, so these two trades made perfect sense for the team. Thompson only has a cap hit of $1 million this season, while Grant’s cap hit is only $700,000 for the year. It won’t make too much of dent in the already dwindling cap space. 

These two forwards are also unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. If the Flyers decide not to re-sign either one of these players, then it won’t block a youngster like Joel Farabee from making the team out of training camp. The Flyers rookies have contributed when called upon, and with Grant and Thompson possibly being gone after the season, the young kids could still make the roster next season. 

VERSATILITY

The Flyers were one of the deeper teams to start the season, but then the news of Nolan Patrick having a migraine disorder was announced by the team. This news hit the center depth of the team hard, as it was figured that Patrick would be the third line center behind Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes with Scott Laughton being the fourth line center. The trades will be able to keep Claude Giroux on the wing, where he has excelled in the past few seasons.

Thompson will be the Flyers’ new fourth line center replacing Michael Raffl, who did an admiral job filling in, even though he is not a natural center. Grant’s arrival means that depending on matchups the Flyers can slide Laughton to the wing and Grant to center if needed. Morgan Frost can work on his game without the puck while with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the rest of the season, which will benefit him in the long run, instead of being up with the Flyers and not playing. The addition of the two forwards means more options at the center position, and throughout the lineup. 

IMPROVED PENALTY KILL

The Flyers penalty kill has improved this season. The team was ranked in the bottom third last season, but are now the 12th best team at killing penalties in the NHL. In 62 games, the Flyers are killing off 81.7% of the penalties they take. They have allowed 34 power-play goals against during the 186 times shorthanded while adding seven shorthanded goals. The addition of Kevin Hayes has made this penalty killing squad better this season, and Thompson and Grant have the potential to make it even better.

The addition of these two forwards will mean that Giroux will likely be limited to taking defensive zone draws on the penalty kill and only when needed. Grant and Thompson will be solid options on the penalty kill if one of the Flyers better forward penalty killers is in the penalty box. Grant already has three shorthanded goals on the season, and could potentially add more if he’s used by Alain Vigneault while shorthanded. Thompson can eat up some valuable minutes and take face-offs while a man down.