Maybe Danny Briere can finally get some sleep tonight.
There was quite a bit of speculation as to what moves the Philadelphia Flyers would make on the NHL trade deadline. The front office had made it clear that there was a set plan in place for how they would go about trade business, and there was basically nothing that could make them stray from that plan.
There were plenty of rumors flying around, plenty of players fans thought should or shouldn't be traded, and plenty of opinions on the actual trades that general manager Danny Briere was able to orchestrate.
GAVE: 2024 4TH ROUND DRAFT PICK; RECEIVED: ERIK JOHNSON — B
Simply put, the Flyers needed more depth in defense. They are currently without Jamie Drysdale, Nick Seeler, Rasmus Ristolainen, and traded Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. They've had to call up Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as reinforcements, but neither of those defensemen have much NHL experience. Erik Johnson, the first overall pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, has plenty of it. In his career, he's played 970 games, collecting 340 points (91 goals, 249 assists) in that span.
At 35 years old, he's no spring chicken, but the Flyers defense will benefit immensely from his leadership and experience. It's not exactly a long-term investment, but it could do wonders in teaching the already-promising young defensemen the Flyers do have. And at the expense of only a 4th round pick in this year's draft, it's not an unfair exchange by any means.
GAVE: WADE ALLISON; RECEIVED: DENIS GURIANOV — A-
It's always a bit of a disappointment to see a younger player depart the organization, especially in Wade Allison's case, where he did get his share of NHL looks, but couldn't stay healthy enough to fully prove himself at the top level. Ever since getting drafted in 2016, he spent most of his time in the organization in the AHL, and has not played any NHL minutes so far in the 2023-24 season.
In return, the Flyers get a boost for their offense, trading for the Nashville Predators' Denis Gurianov—a player of the same age and position as Allison. It adds more depth to their forward lines, and brings plenty of his own experience at just 26 years old. He's played 294 NHL games, recording 113 points (52 goals, 61 assists), including 14 games played this season with one goal and one assist to his name.
Danny Briere stated that Gurianov will be getting his opportunity for the Flyers right away, adding even more options for head coach John Tortorella as he continues to try and find four solid, consistent forward line combinations.
Overall, it looks as though the Flyers did what they set out to do, and accomplished what they wanted to in this particular trade window. Briere succeeded in carrying out his plan, and was able to execute it without needing much pomp and circumstance. It's all in the spirit of a gradual but effective rebuild, and fans know that their general manager has a lot more planned to make the Flyers a dynasty in the near future.
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