Will The Philadelphia Flyers Ship Out More Core Veterans?

The Philadelphia Flyers made the biggest move of the March trade-deadline period by shipping long-time captain Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers. More changes involving other core players could be in store during the offseason.

James van Riemsdyk could be among the veterans changing teams this summer. Responding to readers' questions in a recent mailbag segment, The Athletic's Charlie O'Connor speculated the 32-year-old winger could become a cost-cutting candidate if management seeks to make some roster additions.

Signed through 2022-23 with an annual cap hit of $7 million and lacking no-trade protection, van Riemsdyk is slated to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Given his salary and declining production, O'Connor proposed the Flyers might have to add a sweetener or absorb half of his cap hit to make the winger more palatable to potential suitors.

O'Connor also suggested Ivan Provorov, Travis Konecny or Travis Sanheim could be peddled to clear cap space for additions. Cap Friendly indicates Provorov ($6.75 million annual cap hit) and Konecny ($5.5 million) are signed through 2024-25 while Sanheim has one year remaining at $4.675 million.

Like van Riemsdyk, they all lack no-trade clauses. However, Provorov and Konecny are 25 and Sanheim 26, making them more enticing to clubs willing to bet on those players benefiting from a change of scenery.

The Flyers could attempt to move Sanheim as he's also a year away from UFA eligibility. However, the additional term on Provorov's and Konecny's contracts could be more attractive for clubs seeking longer-term cost certainty.