Flyers and Leafs interesting trade partners
Flyers director of player development Don Luce has been spotted for three consecutive weeks at Toronto's Air Canada Centre. Could the Flyers and Leafs be talking shop before the trade deadline? We're putting all the loose ends together.
Flyers and Leafs interesting trade partners
RALEIGH, N.C. -- With the biggest snoozefest of the season going on inside the RBC Center, perhaps the most interesting Flyers action on Tuesday night was taking place nearly 800 miles north of North Carolina.
That’s because Flyers director of player development Don Luce was spotted for the third time in as many weeks at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto for the Maple Leafs’ contest against Buffalo.
Luce’s consistent presence in Toronto fuels trade speculation between the Flyers and Leafs. The NHL trade deadline is just 47 days away, expiring on Feb. 27 at 3 o’clock.
Coincidence, you say, for someone who makes his permanent residence in nearby Buffalo? That’s a fair assumption. But let’s put all of the pieces together:
- Luce, who was hired by the Flyers in 2006, also spent a lot of time in Toronto before last year’s pre-deadline trade on Feb. 14 for Kris Versteeg.
- Leafs general manager Brian Burke and Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren are close friends. Holmgren was Burke’s head coach in Hartford in 1992-93 in Burke’s first GM job. Most recently, Holmgren and Burke were on the U.S. Olympic management team for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Holmgren employs Burke’s son, Patrick, as a scout.
- Burke has a history of making the bulk of his trades before the NHL’s popular deadline.
"I do try to get my lineup set well in advance of the deadline," Burke told ESPN.com on Friday. "I’ve never been a deadline guy. So January is when I try to make a splash. We are listening to a lot right now, and there is a good chance something will happen ...”
Last year, Versteeg ended up collecting just 7 goals and 4 assists in 27 games with the Flyers.
This time, the Flyers are in the market for a depth defenseman to fill Chris Pronger’s void. Fittingly, the Maple Leafs have a few pieces on their blue line that could move.
The most interesting is Luke Schenn, the older brother of Flyers forward Brayden Schenn. The elder Schenn, 22, has watched his minutes wane in his 4th NHL season. He’s dropped from an average of 22:22 last season to just 16:36 this season.
Schenn is in the first year of a 5-year, $18 million deal which pays him a manageable $3.6 million salary cap hit per season. He has a modified no-trade clause which does not kick in until the final year of his deal.
I like Schenn because his role with the Flyers would be three-fold. He would be the perfect No. 4 or No. 5 in an already stable defense corps for the Flyers' playoff run. He would quickly jell on a roster that already features his brother. And he is a capable replacement for Matt Carle, should the Flyers not be able to re-sign the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent.
While organization figureheads remain tight-lipped on Carle’s contract status for next season, that doesn’t mean there have not been discussions about an extension. It just seems hard to believe that Carle would be willing to agree to an extension below his market value just to stay with the team. Carle makes $3.473 million this season and his rate could increase considerably on the free market this summer.
Schenn is also durable. It's hard to say, though, what Burke would want in return for Schenn. Last year, Versteeg went for 1st and 3rd round picks, but Schenn might actually be more affordable since he would be coming with 4 more years on his deal. Plus, teams aren't exactly jumping up and down to spend $3.6 million on players only good for 16 minutes per game.
Schenn isn’t the only interesting trade consideration from Toronto. Cody Franson, 24, would likely be readily available. He provides a cheap alternative to Schenn and at just $800,000 salary, Franson is an extremely affordable pro-rated rental player.
The biggest thing that Burke needs to decide in between now and Feb. 27 is how much of a buyer he would like to be at the deadline. The Leafs enter Wednesday’s practice in 6th place in the East, searching for the first NHL playoff since being eliminated by the Flyers in 2004.
With the playoffs in clear sight, it’s hard to envision Burke being willing to unload defensemen Carl Gunnarsson or John-Michael Liles.
Then again, we’re not even at January’s mid-way point. A lot can change between now and the end of February. Between now and then, it makes sense to keep an eye on the Flyers and Maple Leafs.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
Maybe Dave Babych is available.— dontlikeneocons- Americanitis, my youngest son would agree with you 100%. He has a #47 Sbiza home jersey.— John Klink
- Why would you go after Dave Babych when Mike Rathje is out there?— 1980
- The going rate for a Schenn would be Giroux, since he's both their top scorer and best remaining 2-way forward.— no_shootouts
- Backer I agree 100%, best post of the week. If Holmgren can add a piece without sacrificing a roster player then I'm all for it, but really is Gleason going to get us over the hump this year? I seriously doubt it. This team is 1-2 years from it's full potential, when he traded Carter and Richards Holmgren knew this would be the case so I don't see why he'd change course now. The big decision to be made yet is whether to go forward with Pronger as the centerpiece on D or to pursue Weber or another #1 D-man to replace him. I get that he needs to add a defenseman this year, it's only fair to the players to give them a shot, but it shouldn't be at the expense of the future.— sla6yer
- no_shootouts, huh?— 1980
- Even though Scheen's ice time is down he is a better guy than what we have playing right now since the coach will not play Walker. We are still lacking tough D-Man without Pronger playing Walker is the kind of D-man that we could really use right now. Iwould not give up much for him but if weare talking someone like Weber or another top D-man I would be looking to move Little Scheen and maybesome draft picks and another player we will see what happens between now and the trade deadline— srcdaddy1216
- Sbisa could be interesting,can score but is not a clearout defenseman like Chara/Pronger.Do not think you can get a hold of Liles.Toronto is still in the playoff race,so I would doubt Burke is looking towards next year— whilly
- Sbisa is 6'2" and 210 with a cap hit of $2.175 mil per over 4 yrs. He's also 21. He is big enough to help keep the crease clear and has enough youth and offence to be good in the other end as well. The Flyers are not going to find a guy like Pronger or Chara - they are once-per-generation Dmen and don't grow on trees. Even if they could, they aren't able to afford him. And can we stop with the Suter/Weber nonsense already? No chance on either unless you blow up the forward corps, and that's all that's been keeping Philly in the hunt - being able to score 3, 4, 5 goals to offset the awful defense and shaky goaltending. Luke Schenn is twice Sbisa's price; anybody out there think he's twice the defenseman? I don't. Sbisa is big, fast, has a good shot and a bit of snarl in his game finally after a few seasons in the NHL, and is probably not done growing at 21. He's also affordable and has a good contract. He was also one of the rare good defensive Flyers draft picks. The FO knows him very well. In the event that Carle isn't resigned, Sbisa could help bridge that gap too. Also - Anaheim will be sellers. Toronto, currently in a playoff spot, will not be. And they certainly aren't moving Schenn.— Americanitis
- What is this fascination with Luca Sbisa? 2 goals, 10 assists and a minus 9. 2 goals, 11 assists and a minus 12 last year. Am I missing something?— forphillyfromla
- Age...22, youth...experience...over 150 NHL games, comes cheap and stays cheap, and is one of the best cardio-conditioned athletes in the NHL..meaning, will not be winded in the third period. — Romus
- Sbisa stinks. Philly people love to recycle players. Time to move on. Next.— dontlikeneocons
- Once Erik Gustafsson is healthy, Flyers should see if he's good enough to get regular minutes. He certainly seems better than Lija.— willthethrill11
- One other reason not to rush: While I would think most of us have enjoyed the first half of the season, we all know that the second half of the season, those last 15 games...points are already difficult to come by, and it becomes even harder down the stretch. This is such a young team -- Slayer said it best: We knew, Paul Holmgren knew, that this wasn't the year that a Cup run should be expected. It's great that they've played so well. But nobody knows what some of these players will do down the stretch -- Jakub Voracek has been in the playoffs once, Wayne Simmonds twice. And not in Philadelphia, where the pressure/expectations are significantly higher than Columbus or Los Angeles. I just think that waiting to see what these guys do under real pressure isn't going to destroy this team. If Ryan Suter wants to come here as an unrestricted free agent for next year, great. But getting Shea Weber's going to cost Sean Couturier and multiple picks, because he's restricted, not unrestricted -- and you don't know if he wants to play for the Flyers. Dan Hamhuis didn't. That's a price that, right now, I don't know that the Flyers need to pay that yet. You don't know if all the other pieces are ready for the level of competition/pressure, the level of production, that is required to win the Cup.— FlyerBacker88
- Versteeg is obviously a good player with 17g , 22a, and a plus 11, 14ppp, but he just didn't fit in the flyers system for whatever reason. Maybe they should have given him another year, who knows, but it doesn't matter. Schenn is not the answer....either of them.— philly thug
