Flyers aren’t sellers at this point … Looking to improve on the blue line
Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Philadelphia Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher admits that their blueline is “not right” and they are trying to find the “right mix.”
Fletcher said in a media availability yesterday that they are not looking to be sellers at this point and that he’s making more calls than he is receiving.
“I’ve been much more aggressive than a lot of people, just looking at different options,” Fletcher continued. “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of teams willing to take on dollars and term at this point in time.”
There has been a report that the Flyers could be interested in injured Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis.
“We’ll take a look, and anything we do, we want to make sure it makes sense,” said Fletcher, who was not talking about any specific players. “If we can fill a box for the long-term right now, we can potentially explore that. But certainly, if we can upgrade our team, we’ll do that.”
The Flyers have been searching for a Matt Niskanen replacement since the offseason.
Potential options for the Flyers
Ryan Gilbert of Philadelphia Hockey Now: Philadelphia Flyers assistant GM Brent Flahr was listed to attend Tuesday nights Arizona Coyotes – Colorado Avalanche game. The Flyers are not in the same division as either the Coyotes or Avalanche. The Flyers are looking for a defenseman and the Coyotes could have a couple that may be available ahead of the trade deadline.
The Flyers have been linked to Coyotes left-handed defenseman Alex Goligoski. Goligoski is a pending UFA that can play on both the left and right sides.
Nashville Predators Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis would obviously have more of an impact than Goligoski would.
Elliotte Friedman reported that the Flyers had offseason interest in Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Friedman has also noted that the Flyers spoke with right-handed defenseman Jason Demers.