On the Philadelphia Flyers …
Dave Isaac of the Courier Post: Brian Elliott is out, and Michael Neuvirth was injured over the weekend. The Flyers may have to look at the goalie market.
The Detroit Free Free reported that the Flyers turned down a Petr Mrazek for a third-round pick. Jimmy Howard has term left on his deal and Flyers GM Ron Hextall would only be in the market for a rental.
Seems unlikely that the Coyotes would trade Antti Raanta.
Five options for the Flyers include Robin Lehner (Sabres), Chad Johnson (Sabres), Calvin Pickard (Maple Leafs), Aaron Dell (Sharks), and Jonathan Bernier (Avalanche).
On the Ottawa Senators …
TSN: Bob McKenzie on TSN 1200 on the Ottawa Senators leading up to the trade deadline.
Trading Derick Brassard for some younger pieces makes some sense. Zack Smith is overpaid, so if they can move him for future, that makes sense too. Mike Hoffman?
“The one that jumps out at you and doesn’t fit with the other ones is a 25-year-old who can score goals like Mike Hoffman. That’s not to say that it’s ludicrous to trade him because if he gets the right offer coming back you might get multiple pieces that aren’t Mike Hoffman but could give you better balance and better depth. But the flip side is he’s got a nice contract, he is an elite skater with elite goal-scoring potential and his actual production is very good, so part of me says why do you want to get rid of a guy like that? And then there’s another part of me that says well I guess if you got a really good return that made sense in line with those other deals that you may or may not do, that you could make a seismic shift here for the next five to seven years with your team. But I think the key there is you really need a return on Hoffman and I don’t know if you can get that at this deadline.”
