Once again, the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens find themselves linked to each other in a trade rumor, but the latest report on a potential target just doesn’t pass the sniff test this time.
It has been rumored many times in the past that the Flyers had interest in rugged Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj, a heavy bruiser with a tendency to drop the gloves with even the toughest customers the NHL has to offer.
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That, of course, included the likes of former Flyers tough guy Nick Deslauriers, who has fought Xhekaj while on the Flyers in the past.
According to NHL Network and The Fourth Period NHL insider David Pagnotta, the Flyers are still interested in unsigned restricted free agent, as they have been over the past several years, with potential competition from other clubs.
“There are other teams that have expressed, over the last few weeks, interest in trading for Arber Xhekaj,” Pagnotta said on Wednesday’s episode of DFO Rundown. “Philadelphia has been one. They had interest in him for the last couple of years, and still the case now. But nothing imminent on that front just yet.”
Now, it has been public knowledge, as well, that the Flyers had a desire to make upgrades on their defense this offseason, and nothing has truly come to fruition just yet.
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The Flyers had traded Emil Andrae, Sam Ersson, and a third-round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit, but outside of Benoit, no further additions have been made to the NHL roster at the position.
But that’s why this rumor simply doesn’t make sense anymore.
Flyers not a fit for Xhekaj
Looking at the Flyers’ roster as things currently stand, they could certainly use another enforcer, having lost Nick Deslauriers at the NHL trade deadline and shipping Garnet Hathaway off to Florida earlier this offseason.
The key here is that those two players were forwards, and Xhekaj is a defenseman.
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On defense, the Flyers already have two stand-up guys in Benoit and veteran Nick Seeler who can bring the sandpaper and fight if and when called upon.
Adding an eighth defenseman to the mix, when the Flyers are already hoping to integrate youngsters like Oliver Bonk and David Jiricek, would be counterproductive.
It works in Xhekaj’s favor that he is only 25 years old and younger than Benoit (27) and Seeler (33), but again, the Flyers would have to pay assets to trade with the Canadiens, and then re-sign the Hamilton, Ontario, native to a new contract.
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Seeler has a cap hit of $2.7 million for the next two seasons, while Benoit has only one year on his deal at a $1.35 million cap hit. That leaves the Flyers future financial flexibility for a more substantial upgrade at the position down the road (remember Zach Werenski and John Carlson?), and Xhekaj just isn’t that.
The only way such a trade between the Canadiens and Flyers works is if Seeler goes to Montreal in return; Benoit, as the newcomer, isn’t going to be on the move again so soon.
Seeler’s full no-trade clause expired on July 1 and can now be traded to any team at any time, but the Canadiens would have to consider that Seeler is a 33-year-old shot-blocker starting to hit his decline.
Then, the Flyers would have to bridge the gap with other assets, considering the Canadiens are getting older and slower at the position.
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For the Flyers, it is hard to see the value in trading for yet another bottom-pair defenseman with the young players they already have; Hunter McDonald and Ty Murchison are deserving of that chance and those minutes and would cost nothing.
The Canadiens, according to Pagnotta, want to keep Xhekaj anyway, so what would they get from the Flyers in return that makes a trade worth it to them in their eyes?
We can safely nip this rumor in the bud until something changes.
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