Friedman on Flyers' trade thoughts on Schenn, Couturier

Elliotte Friedman was on Calgary’s Sportsnet 960 on Monday morning.

On Ron Hextall and the Philadelphia Flyers:

“The tough thing for there is he doesn’t have a lot that other people want. Nobody really wants to take Andrew MacDonald’s contract. Nobody really wants to take Vinnie Lecavalier’s contract. Philly knows if they want to move those guys, they’re probably going to have to eat a chunk.

“I think the thing that other teams are saying about them is there’s a certain expectation of a game when you play against the Flyers, that especially when they’re going poorly, that at least you know that they’re going to try to run over you. That doesn’t appear to be the case with them. They seem a bit – I don’t know if ‘meek’ is the right word, but meeker than normal.

“From what I understand about what Hextall is, you pick a player on the team that somebody might want, whether it’s a Brayden Schenn or a Sean Couturier. I think what he’s trying to do is say, ‘Okay, if you want one of those guys, you have to take one of my contracts I don’t like.’ And I think teams are balking at that. For two reasons: 1) It’s a lot of money, and b) especially during the season where so many teams are tight to the cap, it’s really hard to do. So I think that’s kind of where Philadelphia is right now. They’re in positions where they can’t really make the deals they want to make.”

Related: Friedman on Green's trade value for Capitals

On if Hextall were to move one of his young players, which one it might be:

“I hear Couturier’s name out there, but I just think it’s so hard to trade good centers. And Couturier’s offense is not where they want it to be, but he’s such a good defensive player. I mean, third line center in this league is such an important position. You need a guy who can check and give you some offense. I think they badly want Couturier to be more offensive, but he’s still so skilled.

“It’s probably – I know Hextall has been angry this year when Brayden Schenn’s name gets out there, but I think that’s probably a guy. Like, if they got the right deal, I think they would consider doing it.

“I know Hextall really likes the Couturier-Read combo together in theory. They haven’t had a great year. But I wonder again, if he could get the right thing, what might he do for one of those two players as well.”

Source: Sportsnet 960/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey