Flyers trade Ivan Provorov in blockbuster three-way deal with Blue Jackets, Kings

The Flyers have made their first big trade of the offseason, shipping Ivan Provorov to the Blue Jackets in a three-way deal.

Since Danny Briere was named the Philadelphia Flyers' full-time general manager in April, he has repeatedly stated that no player on the club's roster is untouchable, and that he'd listen to offers regarding anyone. Understandably, fans have eagerly been waiting for the first domino to fall since those comments were made.

Well, the first domino has fallen. Tuesday afternoon, the Flyers traded defenseman Ivan Provorov as part of a three-way deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman was first on the story.

Provorov is headed to the Blue Jackets. From Columbus, the Flyers acquired a first-round pick (No. 22 overall) in this year's draft and a conditional second-round pick in the 2024 draft. And from Los Angeles, they acquired goaltender Cal Peterson, defenseman Sean Walker, prospect Helge Grans, and a second-round pick in the 2024 draft.

The Flyers also traded defenseman Kevin Connauton and forward Hayden Hodgson to the Kings in the deal.

The Flyers are not retaining any salary on the remaining two years of Provorov's contract, which carries an annual cap hit of $6.75 million.

Provorov, 26, developed into a key piece on the back end for the Flyers since being selected in the first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Provorov has logged 65 goals and 217 total points in 532 career games over seven seasons. He was awarded the Barry Ashbee Trophy as the Flyers' best defenseman at the end of the 2022-23 season — his fourth time winning the award.

A trade involving Provorov hardly comes as a surprise, though. Not only has his play regressed considerably since his stellar 2019-20 campaign, but he also expressed apathy during his exit interview when asked about where he fits within the Flyers' future.

"That's definitely not exactly what you want to hear," Provorov said of the Flyers' rebuild. "I came into a rebuild, we had one good year — the bubble year — we were going into the pause on a nine-game winning streak, or it was just snapped, I think. And then after that, things went sideways. We tried to quick fix, that didn't work.

"I won't say it's the most positive news you can hear, but there's a bright future here, and there's a lot of great players that can keep growing. Obviously it depends on how quick everybody gets better and how quickly the team game gets better. That's what determines the length of the rebuild, I guess."

For a player coming off perhaps the worst season of his career, Briere managed to get quite an impressive haul, especially considering the NHL-ready players joining the Orange & Black.

Petersen, 28, is coming off a disappointing season. Competing against an aging Jonathan Quick and an unproven Pheonix Copley going into the season, Petersen had a chance to earn a significant increase in playing time. Unfortunately, he fell out of favor in Los Angeles and wound up spending most of the 2022-23 season in the AHL, logging a 2.88 goals against average and .904 save percentage for the Ontario Reign. Earlier in his career, though, Petersen showed legitimate starter potential.

In all likelihood, Petersen will compete to serve as the Flyers' backup netminder going into the 2023-24 campaign. He has two years remaining on his contract, which carries an annual cap hit of $5 million.

Walker, meanwhile, is likely to play a significant role for the Flyers immediately. After missing most of the 2021-22 season due to a torn ACL and MCL, the 28-year-old blueliner returned to full health and is coming off a three-goal, 13-point campaign in 70 games with the Kings.

He may not be flashy, but Walker is a solid right-shot defenseman who can play anywhere in the lineup. He played on his offhand routinely in Los Angeles, though it would be surprising if he doesn't primarily line up on the right side in Philadelphia.

Walker has one year remaining on his contract and will account for $2.65 million against the cap next season.

Grans is an interesting addition as well. The 21-year-old Swedish defenseman was selected No. 35 overall in the 2020 draft and brings some good size to the table — he's currently listed at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds. Grans showed inspiring flashes in the AHL during the 2021-22 campaign, logging seven goals and 24 points in 56 games for the Reign. His production slipped a bit this past season, but given his age, it's still possible he can develop into a useful NHLer further down the road.

This trade serves as a pretty good start to the Flyers' rebuild. Not only did they unload the big contract of a player who didn't fit in their timeline, but they also added depth to the blue line, a decent goalie who will compete for a backup role, and three draft picks.

As things currently stand, the Flyers own 10 selections in next month's draft, and it wouldn't be shocking if they add to that total in the not-so-distant future.