Flyers’ Sean Walker Amongst Top NHL Trade Chips

TSN released their latest “Trade Bait” list earlier on Wednesday, featuring Mr. Consistent, none other than Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Sean Walker.

Walker, 29, has been at the top of this recurring list for some time now. Three weeks ago, Walker was ranked No. 5 behind Sean Monahan, Jake Allen, Chris Tanev, and Elias Lindholm. On Wednesday, the Flyers defenseman leapfrogged Allen to take the No. 4 spot behind Monahan, Tanev, and Lindholm – three of the NHL’s likeliest to be moved ahead of the NHL trade deadline in March.

Monahan has been strongly linked to the New York Rangers, who look to improve their center depth while also reportedly fielding calls on Kaapo Kakko.

The Flyers have indicated more trades are on the way in recent weeks, though nothing has come to fruition quite yet. General manager Danny Briere and the front office have maintained their stance on the rebuild, though Briere did say that the team will only make trades that match their asking price.

Potential Walker Trade Partners for Flyers

We’ve yet to see any reliable Walker trade links for the Flyers, though based on my knowledge, a number of contenders have scouted Philadelphia this past month. Some frequent visitors of the Wells Fargo Center include the following:

• Washington Capitals
• St. Louis Blues
• Tampa Bay Lightning
• Vegas Golden Knights
• Buffalo Sabres
• and Toronto Maple Leafs

All of the teams above, bar the Sabres, are in the thick of the playoff chase in their respective conferences. The Lightning and Maple Leafs, in particular, are short on defensemen. The Flyers are willing to retain salary in a Walker trade to get their desired return, and his status as a pending UFA makes that no problem for Briere and Co.

We’ll wait and see if there’s movement on this front later, but as it stands, Walker is still one of the NHL’s likeliest trade chips to be moved.