Before the start of the season, the Philadelphia Flyers seemed like a team, on paper, that was ready to bounce back from the 2020-2021 wash.
At the midway point, 2021-2022 represents Murphy’s Law. Everything that could go wrong, it mostly did. Now, Chuck Fletcher feels the heat to sell at the trade deadline for draft capital at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
When a season goes awry, it’s easy to become thirsty for a change. Only a couple of players are untouchable, meaning Fletcher is open to offers for just about everyone. Joel Farabee and Carter Hart escape trade talks. Suddenly, the rumor mill lights up for just about anyone.
Who makes sense? Just because a player has value doesn’t mean it is sensible to push the trade.
Travis Konecny is a forward that generates trade buzz. Currently, he’s buzzing on a bad Flyers team. His goal-scoring dropped off, but he excels in many other areas. It isn’t hard to build a case that Konecny is more valuable to Philadelphia, quenching a thirst to trade. Nonetheless, let’s understand where the buzz surrounding Konecny ahead of the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline began.
Konecny rumor mill origins
It shouldn’t be hard to see why Konecny makes trade bait lists. He is a valuable player. Other teams want him because they like the player they see currently. It’s the same player that Flyers fans lose sleep about because he doesn’t score as much as he did in 2019-2020.
Alain Vigneault stressed that Konecny tunes his two-hundred-foot game. As a 2RW, he has 31 points (8G, 23A) with even more left to play. A lack of effort isn’t ruining his goal scoring. He’s just snake bitten but continues to find ways to ignite the players around him. Konecny has twelve points in the last fifteen games, creating scoring plays for several different skaters, including defensemen like Nick Seeler, Ivan Provorov, and Travis Sanheim.
His return would net something nice for Philadelphia. Konecny should be on trade bait lists. He represents some of the best bait the Flyers can offer, but it doesn’t help avoid more of the same in 2022-2023.
Does it make sense?
He’s not Farabee or Hart, who I believe are untouchable at the trade deadline. Does it make sense to trade Konecny? Yes, for the right price. Mostly everyone is available at the trade deadline from Philadelphia. The likelihood he’s moved isn’t high at all.
Rumored teams showing interest are the Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres have an abundance of early-round draft picks in the next couple of offseasons. The Kings also have the necessary draft capital with players like Quinton Byfield. Los Angeles makes more sense if the Flyers want a player packaged in return, but again, unlikely.
Konecny presents more value to Philadelphia by remaining as a top-six forward. Ahead of him will be Cam Atkinson, primarily a goal scorer. Not a bad one, two at RW.
