Flyers Seek Blueline Help, More Nazem Kadri And Logan Cooley Speculation

The Philadelphia Flyers started this
season missing two of their top four defensemen.

Cam York is
day-to-day with a lower-body injury and expected to miss the Flyers’
first three games. Meanwhile, Rasmus Ristolainen is still recovering
from surgery in April to repair a ruptured triceps tendon.

On Oct. 7, Sportsnet’s Elliotte
Friedman reported the Flyers were “definitely checking what’s out
there on defense†in the trade market. However, he doesn’t
anticipate much activity this early in the season.

The Flyers have over $6.6 million in
salary cap space after trading permanently sidelined defenseman Ryan
Ellis to the San Jose Sharks earlier this week. Daily Faceoff’s
Anthony Di Marco cited sources suggesting they could use that room to
bolster their blueline.

Jonathan Bailey of The Hockey News
doesn’t expect the Flyers to trade assets for an older defenseman or
a smaller, offensive-minded blueliner. Di Marco agrees, believing
they’ll target an impact player if they make a move.

Di Marco indicated the Flyers were
interested in Bowen Byram before he signed a two-year extension with
the Buffalo Sabres earlier this year. He wondered if they might
revisit their interest, suggesting they offer up winger Owen Tippett
and young blueliner Emil Andrae.

However, Bailey doesn’t consider Byram
the defensive stalwart they need. He noted that Thomas Harley of the
Dallas Stars and Philip Broberg of the St. Louis Blues will be
RFAs seeking big raises next summer but doubted
they will be available. He also doesn’t see the New Jersey Devils
trading Simon Nemec to a division rival.

Meanwhile, in Calgary, Flames center
Nazem Kadri has surfaced again in trade speculation.

Kadri, 35, has been a frequent subject
of media trade conjecture for the past two years, mostly based on the
Flames’ position as a retooling club. For his part, Kadri has
insisted he and his family enjoy living in Calgary and he has no
intention of requesting a trade.

Nevertheless, the possibility of a
Kadri trade hasn’t gone away. During the Oct. 3 episode of Flames
Nation’s Barn Burner podcast,
TSN’s Darren Dreger suggested the Flames might consider moving the
veteran center if they’re out of playoff contention by the March 6
trade deadline.

If the Flames
attempt to move Kadri, they might wait until the off-season. That’s
when his full no-movement clause reverts to a 13-team no-trade list
on July 1.

Turning to the Utah
Mammoth, NHL insider Frank Seravalli recently reported Logan Cooley
rejected an eight-year contract extension worth an average annual
value of $9.6 million, which would’ve made him their highest-paid
player.

Cooley, 21, centers
the Mammoth’s top line and in the final season of his entry-level
contract. Given the rising salary cap, he’s likely waiting to see how
the market unfolds. He could set his sights on something closer to
$11 million.

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