Why the Flyers might have to consider trading the No. 6 pick in the NHL Draft
The state of the Philadelphia Flyers' rebuild after two years under general manager Daniel Briere essentially can be summed up like this:
They are not a team that has lost games on purpose (other than maybe the final game of this past season in Buffalo, when they started the leaky Aleksei Kolosov in net for the first time in four months), they have no plans to tank in the future — on the contrary, they plan on trying to win again next season — and, of course, they are still short on elite-level talent.
Advertisement
At some point, perhaps even sooner than later, Briere is going to have to part with a premium asset or two and take a chance on a player that he views as a future cornerstone.
And for another few weeks, one of those assets at his disposal is the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
Now, of course, dealing that pick for anything other than a long-term solution at center, a true No. 1 defenseman or a legitimate scoring winger/leader whose game would translate in the playoffs would make little sense. The Flyers still need more depth in their system, particularly at center — and as it turns out, there are plenty of potential top-six centers high on this year's draft board.
Unless Brady Tkachuk, Quinn Hughes or Mason McTavish is available — or someone else of that status who has yet who has yet to appear in any trade rumors — it's still much more likely that the Flyers will end up using the pick, especially if they believe they can add more depth at center to join 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko.
But they've also already bought themselves a Plan B if they do end up trading that pick, in the form of two later first-round picks from Colorado and Edmonton and four more picks in the top half of the second round. They will have an opportunity to find some hidden gems in those slots, either by packaging some of them together to move up or simply using them all and hoping to hit on a few of them.
Notably, Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said last week: 'I think the second round actually has some depth to it.' So there will be other chances there for the Flyers to grab some good players if they do move the No. 6 selection, if you believe Flahr's appraisal.
Briere, when speaking with the media after the season, acknowledged that the Flyers could look into offer-sheeting a restricted free agent this summer. There's a danger in that, too — if they do go that route for a true, high-end player, and that offer sheet isn't matched, it would mean surrendering their 2026 first-round pick — and with it, a chance at Gavin McKenna, who could be the league's next superstar.
Advertisement
You only have to look at this year's draft lottery to be reminded of the danger of trading a first-round pick, as the New York Islanders moved up from No. 10 in the draft to No. 1. And as much as Briere has spoken about wanting the Flyers to be better next season, unless he can meaningfully fix the goaltending and the power play, finishing in the bottom third of the league again is entirely plausible.
In other words, if they're going to deal their first-round pick for a true impact player, they may be better off doing it this year rather than next.
It seems evident to me, at least based on what I've heard and seen online, that Flyers management believes the team is much closer to competing for a playoff spot than the majority of the fan base and even many in the media who cover the league. Which is understandable. The Flyers finished with the fourth-worst record in the NHL and are still technically rebuilding, and teams in their position don't typically end up trading their highest pick in the draft.
But again, the Flyers aren't approaching this rebuild the same way as some teams that finished below them — the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, in particular. Briere has said he believes the 2024-25 Flyers were better than their record, while president of hockey operations Keith Jones recently said in a radio interview that the days of trading away useful players in the middle of the season, as they've done for the past two seasons, are probably over.
That pivot was obviously sold to new coach Rick Tocchet, because you don't hire a guy like that if you expect the rebuild to last several more seasons. That's not something the 61-year-old Tocchet would likely be interested in, either.
Many pieces of what Briere and Jones hope will be a perennial playoff team are already in place. Matvei Michkov is here, Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim are locked up long-term, and now Tyson Foerster and Noah Cates are re-signed after the steps they took in 2024-25. It's a decent foundation.
But they need more top-end talent, and they're going to have to get creative in order to procure it. That means just about everything — other than that aforementioned group — is likely to be on the table this offseason.
Including the No. 6 overall pick.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
21 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Skier caught in an avalanche is the second person to die this season on Alaska's Mount McKinley
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A skier died after being caught in an avalanche on North America's tallest peak, officials said Wednesday — the second death of this year's climbing season on Alaska's Mount McKinley. Nicholas Vizzini, 29, of Washington state and his climbing partner, a snowboarder, triggered the avalanche high on the 20,310-foot (6,190-meter) peak Tuesday while descending a slope, according to a statement from Denali National Park and Preserve. The top of where the avalanche released was at approximately 16,600 feet (5,060 meters) and ran down to about 15,000 feet (4,572 meters), the park said. Two mountaineering rangers on the mountain responded within minutes after spotting Vizzini's partner amid the avalanche debris, the park statement said. They were able to detect a beacon signal and find Vizzini, who was mostly buried in debris. The rangers tried lifesaving measures, but he was pronounced dead early Tuesday evening, the statement said. Vizzini's body was recovered and transferred to the state medical examiner's office. His partner sustained minor injuries and was scheduled to leave the mountain Wednesday, according to the statement. Earlier this month, Alex Chiu, a climber from Seattle, died from a 3,000-foot (about 900-meter) fall on the mountain's West Buttress climbing route. The climbing season typically runs from early May to early July. There are about 500 climbers on Mount McKinley currently, the park said.
San Francisco Chronicle
24 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Fueled by a desire to teach, new Penguins coach Dan Muse is embracing the challenge that awaits
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dan Muse knows his resume, at least the part that includes his playing career, doesn't exactly fit the profile of the typical NHL coach. And yet in some ways, the years spent as a self-described 'bad' forward at Division III Stonehill College, where Muse scored all of five goals in 61 games, played a vital role in creating a path that eventually led Muse to the Pittsburgh Penguins. 'That taught me about work ethic,' Muse said on Wednesday, a week after the Penguins hired him to replace two-time Stanley Cup winner Mike Sullivan. "That taught me about 'Never quit. Don't stop. Never listen to the outside noise and keep finding a way.'' Something Muse has done everywhere he's been over the past two decades, whether it's on the ice, in a high school history classroom or on the lacrosse field. Beyond hockey, teaching might be Muse's true calling. There's something about the challenge of trying to tap into someone's potential — whether it's a perennial NHL All-Star, a 20-year-old prospect, or a student struggling in the classroom — that has always called to him. The fact that calling pushed the 42-year-old to the highest reaches of the sport that's been a lifelong passion is mostly a happy accident. 'I haven't felt like I've worked a day in my life,' he said. An extraordinary impact Maybe, but there is plenty of work to be done in Pittsburgh, which finds itself trying to navigate the twilight of the Sidney Crosby Era to the beginning of whatever might come next. Those plans are still largely in the gestational phase. General manager Kyle Dubas has spent the past 15 months leaning into accumulating as many draft picks and young prospects as possible. The Penguins have 30 selections over the next three years, including 18 in the first three rounds. Muse's burgeoning reputation as a coach with the knack for getting the best out of players makes him seemingly a solid fit for where the Penguins might be going, though Dubas stressed Muse's talents lie beyond merely turning young, talented prospects into young, talented pros. 'Whether it's a young player coming into the league, or a veteran player trying to stay in the league, Dan has an extraordinary impact on all of them,' Dubas said. He'll have to if he wants to have a lengthy run in Pittsburgh, which has missed the playoffs each of the past three seasons and hasn't made it beyond the first round of the postseason since 2018. While longtime captain Crosby, who turns 38 this summer, remains one of the most productive and dependable players in the league, the Penguins have struggled defensively and in goal. Dubas is not interested in a quick fix and instead is searching for a solution that will have staying power. Muse seems to be on board, declining to put any sort of timeline on when Pittsburgh might return to legitimate Stanley Cup contention, saying only that the process will start when the club reports to training camp in September. Muse said he's spoken or at least reached out to '95%' of the players under contract for next season, though he's focused on simply getting to know them at this point rather than do a deep dive into specific philosophies. That will come later. Not intimidated There was a time earlier in his coaching journey — particularly when he was hired as an assistant at Yale in 2009 — when he feared his modest playing career would be a hindrance. Now, the idea of creating a plan and asking future Hall of Famers Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to execute it isn't a problem. 'I've worked in almost every role you can imagine,' said Muse, who spent the past two years on Peter Laviolette's staff with the New York Rangers. 'Second assistant. First assistant. Video coach. Head coach (at the junior level). Especially having the opportunity to work in two different NHL organizations, as well as with all those different players, led me to feel extremely confident about my abilities to come into this opportunity.' Heady territory for someone who grew up in a hockey family but didn't pick up the game seriously until he was 11 and living in Alabama, not exactly a hockey hotbed. Muse can't explain what exactly drew him to the game. He just always sort of loved it. His parents helped stoke that passion, and his work ethic did the rest. Muse's background is one of the reasons why Dubas was intent on opening the job up to candidates of all stripes, not just the people he'd gotten to know during his decade-plus in the NHL. 'If we hadn't gone through that whole process and turned to someone I knew in the past or worked with, we wouldn't have found the best coach for the Penguins,' Dubas said. 'And that's Dan.' In a league that recycles coaches with regularity, the bespectacled Muse and his almost gravely New England accent offer a blank canvas. The Penguins are, in a way, starting over. Muse, who has won championships at every level he's coached outside of the NHL, is just starting up. 'A year from now, I believe I'll be a better coach and hope to be a better person than the one I am sitting here today,' he said. 'That's how it should be.' ___
Associated Press
26 minutes ago
- Associated Press
US Open gets a peaceful day of practice ahead of tough test that awaits at Oakmont
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Serenity at Oakmont could be found Wednesday morning when Rory McIlroy stood on the first tee as the sun rose against a hazy sky on the horizon. He was playing with his best mate in golf, Shane Lowry, their final practice before the U.S. Open. The peace gets shattered as soon as the score starts to count. Even with Scottie Scheffler in full flight as the No. 1 player in golf, even as McIlroy tries to build on his dream moment of being the Masters champion, as Bryson DeChambeau gets a chance to see if his brawn can handle this rough, there has been one name — Oakmont — that rises above all others going into the 125th U.S. Open. 'Oakmont is relentless,' said John Bodenhamer, the chief championships officer at the USGA who sets up the course for the toughest test in golf. 'There's no letup. It's a grind. That's the U.S. Open.' It gets started on Thursday with Matt Vogt, the former Oakmont caddie now an Indiana dentist, selected to hit the opening tee shot. Jon Rahm, who won his U.S. Open four years ago at Torrey Pines, made his debut at Oakmont in 2016 when he was fresh out of Arizona State. He shot 76 on the first day, went 1-over par the rest of the way and finished as low amateur. Even with changes to the course from a restoration project, including a ditch that now meanders across the landing area in the 10th fairway, the Spanish star has a better idea what to expect. 'You're aware of what a golf tournament here is going to be like. It's going to be a challenge,' Rahm said. 'A lot of unfortunate things are going to happen. It's hard fairways to hit, bad lies, difficult bunkers, difficult greens. It's going to be a nice test, a difficult test, and I think one of the truest representations of what a U.S. Open is all about.' Dustin Johnson set the Oakmont scoring record for a U.S. Open at 276 when he won in 2016. The USGA mentioned a few other numbers that also describe Oakmont, mainly the 5-inch rough so dense at the bottom there were no guarantees a golf ball might be lost. Another number had historical context — only 27 of the 1,385 players who have competed in a major championship at Oakmont finished under par. That includes when Oakmont, now a par 70, was played as a par 71 or par 72. 'Our mantra is tough but fair,' Bodenhamer said. 'And what does that mean? It's pretty simple. It's not about the score. It's about getting every club in a player's bag dirty, all 15 of them — the 14 in their bag and the one between the ears. And we work hard on that. 'And that's how we've gone about our business here at Oakmont.' The other number that stands out is 10 — the number of times the USGA has brought its marquee championship to the course built to be tough in 1903. No other course has held the U.S. Open more often. The USGA has been accused over the years of trying to protect par, which it long has denied. Johnny Miller remains the only player to win the U.S. Open with a 63 in the final round, in 1973 at Oakmont. The following year, Hale Irwin won at 7-over par in what became known as the 'Massacre at Winged Foot.' It also fed into the belief that par matters. In some respects, it does. Bodenhamer was asked what score would indicate the USGA didn't get it right. 'Interesting question,' he replied. 'Off the top of my head, something in double digits. I've said this before, we don't want 20 over to win and we don't want 20 under to win. It might be tough. It might not be tough enough. There's a number in there somewhere.' Scheffler is in search of the third leg of the career Grand Slam after winning the PGA Championship by five shots at Quail Hollow last month. Scheffler has won his last three tournaments — all in a five-week stretch — by a combined 17 shots. 'What is he doing? Well, everything,' Justin Thomas said. 'It's effortless. Every single aspect of his game is unbelievable. I think his mental game is better than anybody out here. To be able to play with those expectations and to stay present as often as he has to me is maybe more impressive than even the golf he's playing. 'He just doesn't make any mistakes and almost kind of lets himself be in contention versus forces himself in contention. He just seems to be playing better.' If there is a common trait among U.S. Open champions at Oakmont, strength would be on the list. Johnson won in 2016, Angel Cabrera in 2007, big Ernie Els in 1994. The first of 18 professional majors by Jack Nicklaus and those powerful legs came at Oakmont in 1962. 'I'd say there's definitely a strength factor coming out of the rough,' Scheffler said. 'I don't really know if this is a golf course you can necessarily just overpower with a bomb-and-gouge type strategy, especially with the way the rough is.' Scheffler's strength, much like Tiger Woods, is knowing where to miss and playing the angles. That works almost anywhere. Almost. 'There's not really many areas where you step on the tee box and you're like, 'Hey, I can miss it right here; hey, I can shade towards the left side of the fairway because right is really bad,'' he said. 'Actually, if you hit it in the right rough, you're probably not going to get it to the green. If you hit it in the left rough, you're probably not going to get it to the green. So might as well try and split the difference there and hit it in the middle.' Sounds simple enough. It rarely is at Oakmont. And that's just the way the USGA likes it. ___ AP golf:
