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National Hockey League trade deadline day is here. The Philadelphia Flyers have made several deals as of 2:30 p.m. EST. The deals:
Brink to Minnesota
Twenty-four-year-old winger Bobby Brink is headed back to his home state. The Flyers deal Brink to the Minnesota Wild in a one-for-one trade for 22-year-old defenseman David Jiricek.
Brink has become a reliable middle-six role player for the Flyers over the course of his still-young career. The 5-foot-8 right winger has learned to compensate for his lack of size and average skating ability with hockey sense and work ethic. To date, he’s posted 94 points in 201 NHL games. This includes 26 points (13g, 13a) in 55 games this season.
Thus far, Jiricek’s development has been slower than hoped. He was hyped to be a future top-pairing NHL defenseman at the 2022 NHL Draft. The Flyers, picking fifth overall, opted for left winger Cutter Gauthier. Jiricek still has a high upside but he’s now going to his third NHL organization.
The big Czech blueliner (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) has split time this season between Minnesota and Iowa, posting two goals 10 points and a minus-15 rating in 24 games with Iowa. Jiricek will report to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League. The Flyers hope that a change of scenery — and some patience — will help unlock Jiricek’s potential.
Minor league trade: 2 for 2
In a minor league trade, the Flyers acquired defenseman Jackson Edward and forward Brett Harrison from the Boston Bruins. In return, the Flyers sent forwards Alexis Gendron and Massimo Rizzo.
Edward and Harrison will join the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Edward, 22, is a 6-foot-2 defenseman who has played in nine games with the Providence Bruins this season recording zero points. He has also played in 21 games with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL this season notching seven assists. Previously, he played in the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights. His teammates included Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk.
Harrison, 22, is a center from London, Ontario who has scored 17 points (8g, 9a) in 40 AHL games for Providence this season . He has appeared in 140 career AHL games to date over three seasons for Providence. He was a third-round selection of the Bruins out of the OHL, playing for the Oshawa Generals and Windsor Spitfires.
Gendron, 22, is the son of Flyers’ scout Martin Gendron. He has 22 points this season (10g, 12a). Rizzo, 24, has had trouble sticking in the AHL. He was demoted this season to the ECHL’s Reading Royals.
Deslauriers to Carolina
Philadelphia has traded veteran tough guy Nicolas Deslauriers to the Carolina Hurricanes for a conditional seventh-round Draft pick in 2027. Deslauriers practiced with the Flyers on Friday afternoon before the trade was announced.
The Deslauriers trade to Carolina is basically a “you’ve been a good soldier, thank you” for the player. The trade condition for the late-round pick is unlikely to be met but the deal wasn’t about the asset in the first place.
Flyers claim Glendenning
The Flyers have claimed 36-year-old veteran checking center Luke Glendenning off waivers from the New Jersey Devils. The veteran of 916 NHL games played 52 games with New Jersey this season (0g, 4a, -11).
