The Philadelphia Flyers are
not going to be giving up major assets for a rental, even if they are deeply embedded in a playoff spot come the NHL trade deadline on March 6. But, they could be eyeing to make a move more for the long-term and that could involve getting a forward from the Vancouver Canucks.
As the Canucks continue their teardown, having already moved world-class defenseman Quinn Hughes and the first rental forward of the season in winger Kiefer Sherwood, they are going to be selling just about whatever they can before the deadline and that is possibly going to include forward Drew O’Connor. And according to one Vancouver radio host and Canucks insider, the Flyers could be a team that circles around O’Connor specifically.
Flyers could be landing spot for Canucks’ Drew O’Connor
On
Thursday’s episode of Donnie and Dhali, Rick Dhaliwal, one of the most trusted reporters for any Canucks news, mentioned how teams are calling for O’Connor as the “soft deadline” before the Olympic break in just a couple of weeks approaches. Then, of course, the Flyers were mentioned.
“Teams are calling on O’Connor,” Dhaliwal said Thursday. “You know, he’s got a short-term deal. He fits a cap for a lot of teams. … His name is out there. He’s a good fit for playoff teams. Big, strong guy. Philadelphia, one of the smallest teams in the NHL, would love a guy like that with size, speed, skill.”
Immediately after, Dhaliwal’s co-host Don Taylor made the connection that Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet and assistant coach Yogi Svejkovsky, both were with the Canucks while O’Connor was on the team. For them to make the connection, seemingly more than just that they existed within the same organization, must mean that at least one of Tocchet and Svejkovsky appreciated O’Connor’s game.
On the surface, it makes sense that the Flyers were named as a team that could use O’Connor and still keep him around. The 27-year-old forward is under contract through next season at a very reasonable $2.5-million AAV and has been a consistent depth contributor offensively during his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Canucks. In his first full year of NHL hockey all the way back in the 2023-24 season, O’Connor scored 16 goals and 33 points in 79 games for Pittsburgh. He then followed that up with a 10-goal, 25-point season in 84 games (since he was traded to Vancouver in the middle of it), so not that great but his minutes were lower.
This season, O’Connor has 12 goals and 19 points in 50 games while averaging 13:47 TOI. The Wayne, NJ native has been classified as a versatile forward and while he isn’t technically listed as a center, he has averaged around two faceoffs a game this season — it’s not much and probably still doesn’t mean he could be a center for the Flyers, but it’s at least something.
Is there truly a fit with the Flyers?
The tricky part is, if O’Connor is a winger, there is an issue with just the sheer amount of these guys the Flyers currently have. If we were to draw out the potential lineup for even next season (with a healthy Tyson Foerster back and Porter Martone on the team) he would then be taking a job from Nikita Grebenkin, Denver Barkey, or even Alex Bump. That’s not great for a rebuild as O’Connor edges closer to 30 years old and is taking up precious space in the lineup.
Hockey-wise, it makes sense. O’Connor is at the very least a very, very good fourth-line winger that almost every single team could find some use for, as Dhaliwal mentioned. He scores enough for him to not be a detriment to the offense and all but one season in his career, he’s finished with an on-ice shot attempt share above 50 percent at 5-on-5. He’s just a solid hockey player.
Maybe, we can squint and envision a world where the Flyers see the problem of Garnet Hathaway bubbling up to the surface and needing to replace him as soon as possible with a veteran presence, but veteran in a way where he is still the same age as a lot of the Flyers’ core, not on his way out of the game. But it all depends what sort of assets the Flyers really want to give up to make that replacement, because the Canucks probably want at least a draft pick in the first few rounds for O’Connor’s services and that feels rich just to improve the fourth line of a team that might not even make the playoffs.
It’s tough to see a world where the Flyers really go for this sort of move without other ones coming before it, but there are reasons why they would try to go after a player of this ilk.
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