The Detroit Red Wings have had a big offseason but still have over $8 million of cap space with all of their restricted free agents (RFA) signed. Therefore, general manager (GM) Steve Yzerman is in a position to add to his roster with ease. He should therefore consider making a late-summer move to help strengthen the team’s roster. One team he should do business with is the Philadelphia Flyers, and these three players stand out as prime trade targets worth pursuing.
Travis Sanheim
Travis Sanheim is set to enter the final year of his contract and will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) next summer. Due to some questionable decisions by their GM Chuck Fletcher, the Flyers may not have the cap space to re-sign Sanheim after this season. As a result, the Flyers may have no choice but to trade the 2014 first-round pick before the 2023 Trade Deadline. Perhaps Yzerman should take advantage of this and try to land the 6-foot-4 defenseman now.
Although the Flyers had a pretty horrible 2021-22 season, Sanheim quietly put together one of the best seasons of his five-year career. In 80 games, he had seven goals, 31 points, and a team-best plus-9 rating. He would be an immediate fit on their top-pairing if he can replicate those numbers. Furthermore, he would be a guarantee to play on their power play and penalty kill.
The Flyers recently parted ways with three draft picks to acquire Tony DeAngelo from the Carolina Hurricanes, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they wanted to get some back in a move centering around Sanheim. Perhaps two second-round picks could be enough for Yzerman to bring Sanheim to Detroit.
Travis Konecny
Another player who could be an excellent addition to the Red Wings is Travis Konecny. The 25-year-old is still young enough that he would be a fit in the team’s rebuild, but he also would make them more competitive immediately. He also would be far more than a rental because he carries a reasonable $5.5 million cap hit until the end of the 2024-25 season. Thus, he would be a long-term investment and a pretty good one at that.
Even on a bad Flyers team in 2021-22, Konecny quietly had a good season. In 79 games, he scored 16 goals and a solid 52 points. Adding that kind of production to the top six would certainly be worthwhile for the Red Wings, and this is especially true if the team has playoff aspirations this season. With that, he would be a lock to play on the club’s top power-play unit and can be utilized on the penalty kill due to his strong defensive play.
A starting point for any Konency trade would be a second-round pick and prospect, at least. Along with that, perhaps the Red Wings could send a player like Pius Suter the other way. Overall, it would be a price worth paying because Konecny has the potential to make a big impact when playing at his best.
Zack MacEwen
It wouldn’t be a bad thing for the Red Wings to bring in another depth forward, and Zack MacEwen would provide just that. The 26-year-old forward just completed his first season as a Flyer, where he scored three goals and nine points. Yes, he isn’t known for his excellent scoring ability, but he does offer toughness and immense physicality, which is something that the Red Wings need, especially given his 110 penalty minutes and 159 hits in 2021-22.
If the Red Wings want to acquire MacEwen, he would likely be utilized as the club’s 13th forward. Yet, that wouldn’t be the end of the world, as he is capable of playing both right-wing and center. This would allow him to be utilized in many different ways, so he certainly would be a good depth player to have at their disposal. This is especially true, given how often injuries occur as the season progresses.
Even as a very physical player, it wouldn’t cost the Red Wings much to acquire MacEwen due to his limited offensive production. Sending a fifth-round pick to the Flyers would likely be enough to get this trade finalized. Yzerman could also send a depth defenseman like Jordan Oesterle the other way in a one-for-one trade.
Yzerman has some alluring trade targets worth considering from the Flyers. It will be intriguing to see if these two clubs can make a last-minute splash before the 2022-23 season is officially here. Of the bunch, Sanheim and Konecny have the potential to be major additions, but MacEwen could be an under-the-radar player worth acquiring, too.