As Denver Barkey heads back to the London Knights after spending the last couple of months watching the Philadelphia Flyers' training camp from the sidelines, he reflects on his recovery from illness and coming back a stronger player than before. Last Saturday, the Columbus Blue Jackets [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets/] traded defenseman David Jiricek to the Minnesota Wild. The Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/] were one of the main clubs in the mix [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/flyers-miss-out-on-top-trade-target] for the right-shot defenseman, but they missed out on him for a significant reason. According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell preferred to trade Jiricek to the Western Conference and was not eager to deal him to a Metropolitan Division rival. Here is what Friedman said on the matter during his latest episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast [https://x.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1863590601083461845?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet]: "There were some teams in the Eastern Conference that really felt Waddell's preference was not to trade him (Jiricek) around them. They felt he preferred to trade him to the West. I think there were some teams in the East that were part of this that were interested. Pittsburgh was one. I think Philadelphia was one, and those are two teams that are also in Columbus' own division." David Jiricek [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjExMTM1OTQ5NDExNzIyNzk5/usatsi_21652069.jpg] David Jiricek Given Jiricek's high upside, it is understandable if Waddell was not interested in trading the right-shot defenseman within the division. That would have made the move far riskier, as they would have had to deal with Jiricek as an opponent often. Alas, we will now need to wait and see how Jiricek performs with the Wild from here.
