The 2023 Stanley Cup Final may currently be ongoing, but the Philadelphia Flyers certainly made a splash with this massive offseason move.
On Tuesday, the Flyers traded defenseman Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets, with the Los Angeles Kings sliding in as the third partner in the deal. Provorov played the last seven seasons with the Flyers, often being utilized as the team’s No. 1 defenseman after being drafted No. 7 overall in the 2015 draft.
MORE NHL: Flyers’ Ivan Provorov declined to wear pregame Pride Night jerseys, citing religious beliefs.
While there has been a glut of front office hockey news over the last few weeks, this Provorov trade kicks the NHL offseason into high gear as the first major domino to fall. Let’s take a look at how each of the Blue Jackets, Flyers and Kings grade out in this massive Provorov trade.
The details
There’s a lot of moving parts thanks to this three-way deal, but here are all the details:
- Columbus Blue Jackets get: D Ivan Provorov
- Philadelphia Flyers get: D Sean Walker, D Helge Grans, G Cal Petersen, 2023 first-round pick (from Columbus, 22nd overall), 2024/2025 second-round pick (from Columbus, conditional), 2024 second-round pick (from Los Angeles)
- Los Angeles Kings get: D Hayden Hodgson, D Kevin Connauton, 30 percent retained salary on Provorov
Columbus Blue Jackets
Blue Jackets grade: D
Provorov’s career could very well turn around in Columbus, but the Blue Jackets paid a high price for a big gamble. At 26-years-old, Provorov is in the prime of his career, with two more seasons left on his contract at $6.75 million per year. While Provorov was primarily used on the Flyers’ top pair, the defenseman is better suited to a middle pairing role behind a true playmaking blueliner.
Giving up a first — at 22nd overall in a deep draft this year! — and a second is an exorbitant price to pay for a defenseman that only hit the highs of a No. 1 only once in his career. And given Columbus’ blue line depth coming into the 2023-24 season, it seems as if the team views Provorov as an option on their top pair alongside Zach Werenski.
Jarmo Kekalainen’s made some bold moves before as general manager, but this seems to be his biggest gamble to date.
Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers grade: A+
The Danny Briere era in Philadelphia has certainly kicked off with a bang. The Flyers have needed a big change in this roster for some time now, and Provorov was — without a doubt — the one who needed to move. It seemed like the Flyers and Provorov were headed for a breakup sooner or later this offseason, so Philadelphia did not wait long to end it between them.
Between rumblings of Provorov not being well liked in the locker room and his refusal to wear Pride Night warmup jerseys earlier this season, it just did not seem like the defenseman was a fit for the organization any longer. Plus, Provorov fits more of a second-pairing defenseman role and was only playing on the Flyers’ top pair out of necessity more than anything.
As for the other parts of this deal, both Walker and Petersen are on short-term deals that won’t move the needle at all for the Flyers. Given the team is at the start of a multi-year rebuild, the Flyers aren’t looking to be competitive in the near future. Grans is a former No. 35 overall pick that could see some ice time on the back end for the Flyers as the team looks for new blood.
All that plus adding another first-round draft pick in this year’s draft — with two seconds in years to come — has the Flyers coming out of this deal as the clear winner. What a start for the Briere era in Philadelphia.
Los Angeles Kings
Kings grade: C
The Kings are kind of just here for the ride on this trade, only becoming part of it to facilitate the big deal between the Flyers and Blue Jackets. Los Angeles added two AHL players in Hodgson and Connauton while also retaining 30 percent of Provorov’s deal as well. While points are docked off for being the only team to retain salary on Provorov, this probably won’t amount to much in the long-term for the Kings.
