The Philadelphia Flyers and Dougie Hamilton
Ryan Gilbert of Philadelphia HockeyNow: Again, Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher should have Dougie Hamilton as his top priority. Surely, Hamilton’s agent will be fielding many calls from many teams. Does Fletcher need a statement move? Philadelphia needs an impact defenseman. Hamilton qualifies there no question.
A top-four right-handed shooting defenseman is just what Philadelphia needs. Fletcher has poked around looking for one in the past. He tried making moves with several teams and came up empty.
At least four to six teams are in the mix for Fletcher when it comes to making a deal now. Arizona, Columbus, Nashville, and Carolina have defensemen to move. Hamilton is undoubtedly the big fish here.
Hamilton paired with Ivan Provorov would be some 1-2 and is even a considerable upgrade over Matt Niskanen. Cost may not matter at this juncture. Philadelphia looked as lost as Provorov did at times in 2021. That cannot happen for 2021-22.
Projecting the Philadelphia Flyers expansion draft
Ryan Gilbert of PHIHockeyNOW: From the backend, the expansion draft is pretty easy. Philadelphia protects Carter Hart and exposes Shayne Gostisbehere. That is provided Gostisbehere does not get traded between now and then.
The problem for Philadelphia becomes who to protect from the forward ranks. Surely, captain Claude Giroux will be protected. Besides, he has a no-movement clause. Sorry, Seattle.
So Giroux, Hayes, Laughton, Konecny, and Couturier will be protected.
It appears that Oskar Lindblom will be protected. Few believe Seattle would take him anyway. Nolan Patrick may still get that fresh start but for now, could be protected. This is so Philadelphia does not lose him for nothing.
Dangling players like Jakub Voracek and James van Riemsdyk are painful but necessary with the flat salary cap. Even Nicolas Aube-Kubel is an intriguing name to consider.
That is the thing with this expansion draft. It is going to force decisions that will require some considerable mending of fences later. For now, it is all a business and nothing personal.