VOORHEES, N.J. — Two days before Friday's NHL trade deadline at 3 p.m. ET, the Flyers traded a conditional 2025 first-round pick and Ryan Johansen for Sean Walker and a 2026 five-rounder. A first-round pick was transferred to the Avalanche.
The Flyers placed the 31-year-old Johansen on waivers on Wednesday, according to national reports.
Walker, a 29-year-old right-handed defenseman, was having a career year with the rebuilding Flyers. He was on his expiring contract and was one of the club's top trade chips.
“That's probably one of the best questions to have, right?” Walker said last month on the topic of trade. “At the end of the day, you're playing really well and the team wants you. That's the situation you're in when you get to the end of your contract and the situation I'm in.”
Walker surprised just about everyone in Philadelphia. He arrived last summer in a three-team trade for Ivan Provorov, a move the Kings made to free up cap space. Flyers head coach John Tortorella had to do his homework on Walker and asked then-Los Angeles coach Todd McClellan for a scouting report.
“I didn't know anything about him, but I talked to Mac when we got him,” Tortorella said last month. “He's a great competitor. When he's a safe player, he's a bad player. When he's a player who takes chances, exploits gaps, takes advantage of opportunities and makes plays, he's a really good player. ”
Walker revived his career with the Flyers after suffering a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee just two and a half years ago. Playing primarily alongside Nick Seeler as the Flyers' second defensive pair, Walker tallied six goals, 16 assists, and a plus-9 rating in 63 games.
He entered Wednesday tied with the Hurricanes' Jacob Slavin for the most short goals by a defenseman (2) and second among Flyers blueliners in hits (86). Ta.
Walker played a key role in the Flyers' rebuild this season, but the organization says they are rebuilding. The Flyers have been focused on the future and not letting his one run in the playoffs take away from that.
Walker is a pending unrestricted free agent. He has suitors and could get paid in the offseason. Danny Briere did a good job acquiring a first-round pick on a player he could have lost for nothing in the summer.
“We've said from the beginning that we want to build a team that's not just one in, one out, one in, one out, but a Stanley Cup contender for years to come. [of the playoffs] “It's the same as ever. The focus is still on the future,” the Flyers' general manager said in January.
Along with Walker, Briere received a first-round pick in the Provorov trade. The Flyers drafted right-shot defenseman Oliver Vonk with the 22nd overall pick last summer. Briere was then able to flip Walker for another first-round pick.
In 2024, the Flyers will acquire two first-round picks, one of which came from former general manager Chuck Fletcher's trade for Claude Giroux. In 2025, the Avalanche will have two first-round picks unless their pick falls in the top 10. If he does, the Flyers would receive Colorado's 2026 first-round pick.
The Flyers' defensive depth is currently significantly reduced. Seeler, who signed a four-year contract extension on Wednesday, has been placed on injured reserve. He will miss at least the next two games (Thursday and Saturday), with Jamie Drysdale and Rasmus Ristolainen out each week with injuries.
Four of the Flyers' six healthy defensemen are under the age of 24: Cam York, Egor Zamula, Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning.
“We've got some young kids on the back end that will probably get some time in our next game here,” Tortorella said after Wednesday's practice. “That's the way we have to think. You just fill it out and hopefully get the SEALs back as soon as possible.”
Veteran center Johansen has $4 million per year left on his contract for this season and next.
More: Laughton reminds Flyers of his value as trade rumors 'fly around'
Subscribe wherever you get podcasts.
Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube
