SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Unless something entirely unforeseen occurs, the Flyers are not expected to make any trades of consequence by the 3 p.m. (EST) NHL trade deadline on Monday.
You dont hear their name mentioned anywhere right now, said a league source.
Several members of the Flyers organization with direct knowledge say they think the team will stand pat given they addressed their top priority -- defensive help -- weeks ago, before the trade deadline frenzy began.
There might be something minor, but I cant see us doing anything. We dont even have the cap space, said a source.
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren got the jump on the rest of his NHL brethren weeks ago with the acquisitions of defensemen Nicklas Grossman and Pavel Kubina, without losing a single player off his NHL roster.
You look at some of the deals that have already gone down and clearly, the closer you get to the deadline, bidding drives the price up.
For instance, the New Jersey Devils, much like the Flyers, wanted to fortify their blue line. Over the weekend, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello greatly overpaid in adding Minnesotas 35-year-old Marek Zidlicky.
NHL
He had to send Kurtis Foster, Nick Palmieri, Stephane Veilleux and two draft picks back to the Wild.
Had Holmgren waited until now and Grossman andor Kubina were still available, he would have paid a higher price than the draft picks and minor leaguer he packaged to upgrade his defense.
That said, given the terribly, inconsistent play of goaltenders Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky in the second half, a number of NHL observers wonder whether the Flyers would bite on a deal that included a veteran goalie with an affordable salary cap hit, such as the Isles Evgeni Nabokov (570,000 cap hit), who remained available as of Monday morning.
The counter argument there is, should another goalie come aboard, chances are the Flyers will lose Bryzgalov, who already has a fragile mental makeup, forever. Given Bryz has eight years left on a 51 million contract, thats not a tradeable contract for a guy with a sub .900 save percentage.
The organization seemed pleased with Bryzgalov regrouping himself in Calgary on Saturday after giving up two more weak goals at games start. Bryz got stronger as the game progressed and became the hero in the shootout with four saves.
Peter Laviolette himself said it was something positive for Bryz to build upon in the days ahead.
What could happen on Monday is a smaller deal for a checking forward. The Flyers were among a handful of clubs poking around Dallas Steve Ott (2.95 million cap hit), who may not be moved.
The Flyers top priority, sources said, is to come away from Mondays deadline with their core roster intact and without losing any of their valuable rookie assets, such as Sean Couturier, Matt Read or Brayden Schenn.
Notable Flyers deadline moves
For those historians, heres a look back on some of the more celebrated moves the Flyers made ator leading into the trade deadline over the years:
Feb. 6, 2010: Ole-Kristian Tollefson and fifth round (2011) to Detroit for Ville Leino.
Feb. 26, 2007: Alexei Zhitnik to Atlanta for Braydon Coburn.
Feb. 27, 2007: Second round pick (2007) to Buffalo for goalie Marty Biron.
Feb. 15, 2007: Peter Forsberg to Nashville for Ryan Parent, Scottie Upshall and a first and third round pick that were later transferred.
Mar. 19, 2002: Maxime Ouellet, first, second and third round pick (2002) to Washington for Adam Oates.
Mar, 23, 1999: Cash to Washington for Craig Berube; Dave Babych and fifth round (2000) to L.A. for Steve Duchesne.
Mar. 24, 1998: Janne Niinimaa to Edmonton for Dan McGillis and second round (1998).
Mar. 15, 1996: Craig MacTavish to St. Louis for Dale Hawerchuk.
Feb. 19, 1992: Rick Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson, Ken Wregget and third round (1992) to Pittsburgh for Mark Recchi, Brian Benning and L.A.s 1st round (1992).
Mar. 2, 1990: Brian Propp to Boston for second round (1990).
Feb. 23, 1984: Paul Holmgren to Minnesota for rights to Paul Guay and third round (1985).
Mar. 9, 1976: Bobby Taylor and Ed Van Impe to Pittsburgh for Gary Inness.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net