Will the Flyers Move James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Hayes?

With James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Hayes putting up a near point-per-game pace, could the Philadelphia Flyers trade them?

Things are looking grim for the Philadelphia Flyers as 2023 approaches. 

They're near the bottom of the Eastern Conference with their playoff hopes fading. Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher could become a seller by the March 3 trade deadline if the situation doesn't soon improve.

Fletcher may already be preparing to make some moves. On Saturday, Sportsnet's Jeff Marek reported the Flyers have made James van Riemsdyk available.

The 33-year-old left winger returned to action earlier this month after missing 20 games with a fractured finger. He has 12 points in 13 games thus far this season.

Marek indicated van Riemsdyk is carrying a $7-million cap hit but pointed out he's earning $5 million in actual salary this season, of which $1 million was already paid as a signing bonus. He believes the Flyers would be willing to retain salary to facilitate a trade.

Meanwhile, Philly Hockey Now's Sam Carchidi cited Marek's colleague Elliotte Friedman wondering if the Flyers will buy out Kevin Hayes at the season's end. 

The 30-year-old forward is their leading scorer with 29 points. However, Carchidi pointed out that coach John Tortorella isn't happy with Hayes' defensive game, benching him three times this season.

Cap Friendly indicates Hayes carries an average annual value of $7.14 million. Friedman observed that his contract contains about $14 million in bonuses, but most of those have been paid out. He's slated to receive $1.25 million in signing bonuses in 2024-25 and again in 2025-26.

Buying out Hayes would leave the Flyers paying out $16.5 million over six years. Perhaps Fletcher will attempt to trade him first by retaining half his salary, which would only leave them carrying $3.57 million annually for the next three years.