With the
trade deadline looming at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the Flyers are faced with one of
life’s eternal questions: buy or sell? Currently just two points out of a playoff
berth, it sounds like the front office is about to go shopping.
Multiple
reports are placing the Flyers in the thick of the Ryan Clowe sweepstakes, with
a story from Clowe’s hometown paper (via DN's Frank Seravalli -- his take here) even claiming a deal would be completed on
Monday. That’s not likely to be the case as there are rumored to be several suitors, but apparently this organization's interest in
the Sharks’ 30-year-old winger is legit.
Clowe is not
having a very good season, with literally zero goals and only 11 assists in 28
games. His best season came as recently as 2010-11, when he potted 24 to go along with 38
helpers. While defense is the greater concern at this point, the offense has
struggled to maintain a consistent balance. Clowe could potentially step on to
Philly’s top line with Claude Giroux and help right away.
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Clowe is a free agent after
this season, but Seravalli adds that any trade would be followed by a swift contract extension.
It will be
interesting to see what the Flyers would have to give up, but it doesn't seem
wise to move any of their young building blocks. There’s nothing
wrong with exploring the possibility, just not at the expense of the Sean Couturiers or Brayden Schenns who seem to have far higher ceilings, or what could be a very high first-round draft pick for that matter.
If the price is right however, Clowe could help them now and down the road. That said, he doesn't exactly seem like he would be the Flyers' big missing piece.
>> Trade deadline: Flyers in talks with Sharks for Clowe [CSN]