Instant Analysis: Flyers Rake in Assets for Provorov

Daniel Briere made a major offseason subtraction from the Philadelphia Flyers' NHL roster in Thursday's three-team trade with the Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets. In addition, the Flyers raked in a haul of draft picks, Cal Petersen (G), Sean Walker (D) and Helge Grans (D).

LIVE: Flyers General Manager Daniel Briere meets with the media to discuss Philly's three-team trade with Columbus and Los Angeles. https://t.co/gHU6BESfJb

"It wasn't an easy decision. You have to give up good players to get good assets," Briere said.

"We felt this trade made sense for us. It's too early to tell if we'll make other trades. We will if it makes sense... We're open for business,"

What the Flyers subtracted: The Flyers deal 26-year-old NHL defenseman Ivan Provorov, 27-year-old AHL winger Hayden Hodgson and 33-year-old AHL/NHL defenseman Kevin Connauton.

Provorov, of course, is the key component of the trade. He will now head to Columbus (via LA) and play on the same blueline as Zach Werenski. Back in 2015, the Flyers selected Provorov with the seventh overall pick of the first round in the NHL Entry Draft. Columbus took Werenski with the next selection.

Provorov has never missed a game due to injury in his 532-game NHL career to date. He was forced to sit out three games in 2021-22 due to a bout with Covid. He has perennially been among the NHL leaders in ice time and has won the Barry Ashbee Trophy four times as the Flyers top defenseman (2016-17, 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2022-23).

"Ivan has been a warrior for our team. Played a lot of minutes, He's a hard defender, plays hard every single night. I still considered him a top-pairing [player] for this team. But in a deep Draft, we had to pay the price."

However, Provorov has been uneven in his performance over the last three seasons. This past season, he was removed from regular power play duty over lengthy portions of the season. He has two seasons remaining on his contract at a $6.75 million average annual value (AAV), and can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2025.

Power forward Hodgson, who had a disappointing 2022-23 season, has one season remaining on the contract he signed on Aug. 22, 2022. For 2023-24, it's a one-way deal, meaning that he will be paid at the same rate ($800,000) whether he's in the NHL or the American Hockey League.

Depth veteran Connauton did not appear in an NHL game this past season. He's entering the final year of a one-way contract that will pay $765,000 in AAV ($775,000 in real-dollar value) in 2023-24.

By including Hodgson and Connauton in the trade, the Flyers broke even in terms of available NHL contracts within the 50-contract limit. They subtracted three, while adding three.

What the Flyers added: From the Flyers' side, the allure of the trade is first and foremost about the three Draft picks and one prospect coming back. Most notably, the Flyers acquired the 22nd overall pick of the first round in the 2023 Entry Draft. The Flyers now have a pair of picks in the upcoming Draft: seventh overall and now the 22nd (originally belonging to Columbus and traded to LA on March 21, 2023).

Additionally, the Flyers acquired a pair of second-round picks. Philadelphia has received LA's 2024 second-rounder. The Flyers also get an conditional second round pick from Columbus. Next year, after the conclusion of the first round of the 2024 Entry Draft, Columbus gets the option of transferring its second round selection to Philadelphia or deferring the pick that goes to Philly until the second round of the 2025 Draft.

In recent years, the Flyers have heavily traded second round picks (Shayne Gostisbehere, Rasmus Ristolainen and Tony DeAngelo deals). In the Ristolainen trade, 1st round (2020) and 2nd round (2023) were involved. The DeAngelo trade last year saw the Flyers deal 4th round (2022), third-round (2023) and second-round (2024), The Gostisbehere trade for cap space back on July 22, 2021, also involved a 2022 seventh-round.

The Provorov trade to LA is a step toward adding more long-term depth back into the Flyers prospect pool. Additionally, they get an immediate boost with the addition of 21-year-old defenseman Helge Grens. The 21-year-old Swede fits a similar profile to former Flyers defenseman Phil Myers.

Originally selected by LA in the second round (35th overall) of the 2020 Entry Draft, Grans is a toolsy and athletic player with a desirable combination of boasting a big frame (6-foot-4, 205 pounds), good mobility, and a right-handed shot. Thus far, Grans' game hasn't added up to the sum of the parts through two pro seasons in the American Hockey League with the Ontario Reign. The potential is still there, however, to evolve into an NHL defenseman.

Philadelphia also acquired two NHL roster players in the trade: 28-year-old right handed defenseman Sean Walker and 28-year-old goaltender Cal Petersen.

Walker, a right handed shooter, has experience playing on either side of a blueline pairing. He lost most of the 2021-22 season to injury, but returned to play 70 regular season games this past year. When healthy, Walker brings some puck moving and secondary offensive ability and a touch of feistiness to an NHL team's top-six. He is more of a third-pair type than a minutes eater but he can help on the lower end of the blueline. In 2023-24, Walker will enter the final season of his $2.65 million AAV ($3.35 million real-dollar salary next season) before becoming a potential unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2023.

Petersen has struggled at the NHL level the past two seasons. He played 10 games with the Kings this past season and, after clearing waivers, spent the rest of the campaign in the AHL with Ontario (40 regular season games, two playoff games). He will turn 29 on Oct. 14.

Bottom line: The Provorov trade is very much in line with the Flyers' stated goal of rebuilding the team. In the immediate term, the Flyers traded the most proven NHL player involved in the deal. It's also about adding pieces for the future. There could be several more moves to come this offseason.

"Having a chance to get another first round was a top priority for me. That's the biggest key to this trade," Briere said. "It gives us a chance also, to give opportunities to some of our younger defencemen."