The Philadelphia Flyers are itching to make some moves to position themselves for success down the road.
"I can tell you that they're interested and eager in becoming a wheeler and a dealer, but that's not because they're trying to sell off assets," TSN's Darren Dreger said on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."
"It's because they want to build a stronger foundation for the future, and they're willing to listen basically ... on every position - not every player, but every position. They feel like they've got the assets to move," Dreger continued.
The Flyers' three pending unrestricted free agents - Nick Seeler, Sean Walker, and Marc Staal - are all blue-liners. They're 30, 29, and 36 years old, respectively. Staal turns 37 in January.
Philadelphia has a core of relatively young talent, with nine players at 24 years old or younger, including Joel Farabee, Owen Tippett, and Bobby Brink. The Flyers' No. 1 goaltender, Carter Hart, is 25. Travis Konecny, the team's leading goal-scorer, is 26. Defenseman Travis Sanheim (who leads the team in points) is 27.
General manager Daniel Briere landed a couple of high draft picks while trading away rearguard Ivan Provorov in the offseason. The GM also dealt away veteran forward Kevin Hayes, bought out defenseman Tony DeAngelo, and let experienced winger James van Riemsdyk walk in free agency.
The Flyers won three of their first five games this season and occupied first place in the Metropolitan Division exactly one month ago on Oct. 23. They now sit fourth at 10-8-1 on the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, a time when NHL clubs typically take the opportunity to evaluate how they've started the campaign.
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