July 24, 2021
It's been a frustrating time to be a Flyers fan. (But then again, when isn't it?)
After years of wishing the front office would do something other than sitting patiently waiting for their players to play better, Chuck Fletcher and company made plenty of waves and attempts to jumpstart a new era of competitiveness for the team. The issue is, not many seem to think the moves were good.
| Acquired | Traded away |
| Ryan Ellis | Nolan Patrick |
| Phillipe Myers | |
| Cap relief | Shayne Gostisbehere |
| Second round pick | |
| Seventh round pick | |
| Rasmus Ristolainen | Robert Hagg |
| First round pick | |
| Second round pick |
There could be more in the pipeline for the Flyers, who have some needs remaining, as Fletcher explained to the media Friday.
"We're still going to look," he said. "Adding another goalie will be paramount and we'll look to see if we can add a little bit more depth. Still want to look at potentially adding some players that can help with the penalty kill up front and those are the types of discussions we're having now. I don't think we'll be doing anything the rest of this weekend with respect to trades."
Philadelphia now has now more or less set its defense, with likely pairings of Ian Provorov-Ryan Ellis, Travis Sanheim-Ramos Ristolainen and Ryan Braun-Cam York. Does that make the defense better? It probably does. Does it put the team in a better position roster-wise going forward, with less depth, far fewer draft picks and Ristolainen on an expiring contract? Well, those are the issues.
With Philadelphia surrendering its first round pick last night with their acquisition of Risto, they'll be on the clock for the first time Saturday, as Rounds 2-through-7 of the NHL Draft continue. Philly has six picks.
You can follow along with all the NHL Draft action, takes, and reactions right here, with our live stream and open thread:
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