John Tortorella may not be the general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, but that didn't stop the head coach from dishing out his two cents on the upcoming trade deadline.

"When it comes to the deadline, we're going to listen," he said, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jordan Hall. "If we feel it's the right thing to do for the future of the organization, we'll do it.

"Those guys on expiring contracts, everybody's always kind of checking around, so we'll see where it goes. We're not out there shopping Sean Walker, but we'd be dopes if we didn't listen."

The Flyers have been one of the league's biggest surprises of the season, surpassing all expectations by being a fixture in the Eastern Conference's playoff picture.

Walker, a pending unrestricted free-agent defenseman, has been a major part of the Flyers' success during his breakthrough first season in the City of Brotherly Love.

A right-handed shot who can play both sides, Walker ranks second among all Flyers defensemen this campaign with five goals and 19 points in 52 games while averaging 19:31 minutes of ice time per contest. His underlying numbers have been solid, too, with Philadelphia controlling 52.8% of the shot attempts and 53.3% of the expected goals while outscoring opponents 44-35 with Walker on the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.

Combine his performance with his modest $2.65-million cap hit, and the Flyers could have a hot commodity on their hands come March 8.

"It's probably one of the best problems to have, right?" Walker said. "At the end of the day, you're playing really well and teams want you. That is the situation when you come to a place on an expiring contract, the situation I'm in.

"I'll let my agent deal with all those kind of issues and I'll just take it day by day for now. ... I take everything with a grain of salt."

The Flyers' acquisition of 21-year-old Jamie Drysdale as part of January's shocking Cutter Gauthier trade has crowded their blue line. Walker is one of three Philadelphia rearguards on an expiring deal, alongside Nick Seeler and Marc Staal.

During his midseason address, general manager Danny Briere said he was pleased to see growth from his team but noted that he wouldn't be entering "buyer mode" come deadline time.

"We've said for the beginning that we want to build a team that will become a Stanley Cup contender for years to come. ... The eye is still on the future," the executive said, per NHL.com.

Heading into Saturday's action, Philadelphia was in third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 27-19-6 record, nine points behind the New York Rangers for the top spot.

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Dan and Sat discuss the Canucks play against Boston and if being worried about Elias Pettersson's game is warranted. Also, hear from former Canuck Jannik Hansen on the loss against Boston, everything surrounding Pettersson, and more.

This podcast was produced by Josh Elliott-Wolfe.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Dan and Sat answer your questions about if the Canucks should give up a big piece for Chris Tanev, the importance of winning the division, and more!

This podcast was produced by Josh Elliott-Wolfe.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Noah Hanifin knows the time is near to make a decision on his future with the Calgary Flames.

The pending unrestricted free-agent defenseman could be one of the most attractive names available before the March 8 trade deadline if he doesn't agree to a new contract with the franchise he's called home for six seasons.

"It's definitely on my mind - I'd be lying if I said it wasn't," Hanifin said, per Sportsnet's Eric Francis. "But I'm just trying to control what I can, and that's just playing hockey and trying to perform and help the team get wins."

Hanifin's been involved in trade rumors since last summer. He told the club he didn't want to sign an extension during the offseason but later clarified he's willing to sign long term at some point.

The Flames halted extension talks with several key UFAs after a poor start to the season, and general manager Craig Conroy has already dealt away Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, and Elias Lindholm. Hanifin and fellow blue-liner Chris Tanev remain with the club as potential big-ticket trade pieces.

Calgary offered Hanifin an eight-year extension, according to Francis. Hanifin's current deal pays him $4.95 million annually, and he's projected to get a notable raise on his next contract.

He's notched 28 points in 51 games this season while averaging a career-high 23:38 per contest. The Flames acquired the 2015 fifth overall pick, along with Lindholm, from the Carolina Hurricanes in 2018.

Calgary is one point back of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with 31 games to play.

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Matt and Blake discuss the Canucks' worst loss of the season in Boston, Rick Tocchet calling out his stars (without naming names), their penchant for giving up shorthanded goals, the possibility of seeing Ilya Mikheyev demoted and Nils Höglander promoted, their performance this season against Cup contenders, and a busy weekend with games in Detroit and Washington. Other topics include if there's a buyer's market at the deadline?; the number of defencemen available, the teams seeking defencemen, and bubble teams that may now be getting out and selling off rentals.

Frank Seravalli from Daily Faceoff stops by to talk about the Canucks' interest in free agent Phil Kessel, whether there's any smoke to the Rasmus Ristolainen rumours, Calgary's quandary with former Canuck Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin, and former Canuck Nick Dowd fetching a first-round pick?

Rink Wide: Vancouver host Jeff Paterson joins and carves the Canucks' effort in Boston. Jeff is disappointed that such a big game went so meekly into the night. He looks at Tocchet's comments, the star players, Elias Pettersson's effort on a race with Danton Heinen, Höglander's upward mobility, line juggling and the games in Detroit and Washington. Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are among 12 NHL teams interested in signing Russian forward Maxim Tsyplakov, his agent, Alexander Chernykh, told The Athletic's Joshua Kloke.

Tsyplakov, 25, is in the final year of his KHL contract and enjoying a breakout season for Spartak Moscow with 30 goals and 15 assists in 58 games. He tallied 10 goals and 15 assists in 63 games the year prior.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound forward has primarily played wing in the KHL, though the possibility of playing center was discussed during a Zoom call with Tsyplakov, Chernykh, and senior members of Leafs management last week, Kloke added.

The Maple Leafs could have a need at center next season. Third-line pivot Max Domi is a pending free agent, and there's a case to be made that John Tavares is better suited for the wing at this point in his career.

Tsyplakov is a north-south forward with a physical element to his game, as evidenced by his 128 hits this season - the fourth-most among KHL forwards.

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With just three games on Friday's schedule - two of which feature the bottom three teams - there are slim pickings to choose from.

So we're going to widen the spectrum and include Saturday's slate in our weekend best bets.

Let's get to them.

Penguins (-125) @ Wild (+105)

Note: this game is at 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday.

The Penguins have some value in this game, but the bigger edge is in the total. The under of 6.5 goals is the target.

The Penguins have played very tight, low-scoring affairs for some time. Only one of their past 10 games has gone over the total inside regulation and the Pens putting the puck in their own net proved to be the difference in that one.

The recipe for Pittsburgh's recent defensive success is simple. The team has controlled the run of play at five-on-five and taken very few penalties, and the goaltending has been good.

Projected starter Tristan Jarry has only allowed more than three goals twice since Christmas and routinely gives the Penguins above-average netminding. He's saved nearly five goals more than expected in that span, putting him ahead of All-Stars like Thatcher Demko and Jeremy Swayman.

It's also just fine if the Penguins go with Alex Nedeljkovic instead. He actually owns a higher save percentage than Jarry this season (.918 versus .916) and has proven to be a steal by new Penguins GM Kyle Dubas.

The Wild sit in the bottom 10 in five-on-five shot generation over the last 10 contests and, again, the Penguins aren't taking many penalties. That doesn't bode well for Minnesota to have a ceiling night offensively.

On the flip side, the Penguins rank 27th in goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five over the last 10 games. They also have a notoriously bad power play that, given the talent at hand, isn't nearly as productive as you'd expect.

Long-time Penguin Marc-Andre Fleury, who now calls Minnesota home, should be able to keep his former team to a manageable number in this one.

Bet: Under 6.5 (-135)

Blues @ Sabres

Note: this game is at 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.

The Blues have won plenty of games lately in a completely unsustainable fashion. They've shot the lights out at one end while getting every possible save at the other.

The Blues won four straight games before their shutout loss to the Blue Jackets. But opponents won the Grade A chance battle 67-37 in those victories and recorded 87 more shot attempts.

Their success was entirely smoke and mirrors - the process remained as bad as ever.

Although the Sabres aren't exactly world-beaters, they're on an upward trajectory. They're playing better at five-on-five, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is giving them the level of goaltending they've long been searching for.

He's saved 13.32 goals above expected since the holiday break, which is more than all but Stuart Skinner league-wide.

He hasn't seen top-tier competition in that span, but the Blues don't necessarily change that.

I think the Sabres have a depth advantage, their defensive metrics are much better, and an in-form UPL can go shot for shot with Jordan Binnington.

Look for the Sabres to get it done on home ice.

Bet: Sabres (up to -130)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.

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We put together a disappointing 2-3 record with our bets on Thursday. We split our team plays (side lost, total won) while somehow only David Pastrnak came through in the prop market.

Noah Dobson, who averages nearly an assist per game, didn't record one on any of his team's six goals, while Owen Tippett registered three shots early on and - thanks to five missed shot attempts - was never able to get the fourth.

In any case, we'll take our lumps and look to get back on track with a few props for Friday's card.

Artemi Panarin: Over 3.5 shots

Panarin has gone a little cold of late in terms of getting shots on net, failing to go over his total in three straight games. I think that says more about the opponents than Panarin.

He faced the Senators, Lightning, and Avalanche in that time. Although that stretch doesn't sound overly difficult, Ottawa and Tampa Bay rank top-five in shot suppression over the last 10 games, and Colorado sits eighth overall in that metric this season. It's been a difficult part of the schedule for generating shots.

Panarin finds himself in a much more advantageous spot against one of his former teams on Friday night. The Blackhawks rank 31st in five-on-five shot suppression this season and 27th over the past 10 games. Panarin is the focal point of what's been by far the Rangers' best even-strength line, putting him in prime position to capitalize.

He's also feasted on the Blackhawks in the past, going over in six of his last seven head-to-head matchups - and this is right up there with the worst versions of the team he's faced.

Odds: +105 (playable to -125)

Frank Vatrano: Over 2.5 shots

Vatrano has generated shots at a steady rate all season long. He's gone over his total in 31 of 50 games (62%), including 19 of 26 on home ice (73%). That's remarkable consistency.

The Oilers are a difficult matchup with how they've dominated teams at five-on-five. Even so, I expect Vatrano to have shooting success in this spot.

He's the Ducks' most reliable shooter at five-on-five and is equipped with the ideal linemate for shot generation. Vatrano has averaged more than 20 attempts per 60 minutes with Troy Terry on his opposite wing, the highest shot rate he has with any regular linemate this season.

Terry is a very strong puck distributor who's more than happy to defer to Vatrano. The latter also headlines his own power-play unit, where getting him the puck in shooting position is the team's top priority.

Even against a quality opponent, it's hard to ignore Vatrano's volume and consistency.

Odds: -115 (playable to -130)

Evan Bouchard: Over 0.5 assists

Bouchard is one of the best in-zone quarterbacks in the NHL. He distributes the puck well and generates plenty of assists from rebounds created by his heavy slapper.

He's an efficient contributor at five-on-five and one of the best at piling up assists on the man advantage. Only six defensemen have more power-play assists this season.

That's very important to note heading into a matchup with the Ducks. They're very undisciplined and horrendous at killing penalties. No team has spent more time shorthanded and allowed shots at a higher rate while undermanned.

The Ducks conceded 3.4 goals per game, while the Oilers have averaged nearly 3.75 dating back to the beginning of their lengthy winning streak.

Edmonton should be able to net a few goals in this spot. If that happens, I like Bouchard's chances of picking up an assist along the way.

Odds: +110 (playable to -120)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.

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