Danny Briere has done his best Howie Roseman impression. Fans have been waiting for something significant to happen with the Philadelphia Flyers and yesterday Danny Briere delivered in a big way.
Acquiring a 24 year old center with a lot of potential for a depth center in Ryan Poehling and a couple of draft picks. Are you kidding me? An absolute steal for the Flyers if Zegras can get back to the level he was playing at before his injuries.
This is one of those low risk, high reward type of deals that we always see other GMs make and wonder how come that couldn’t have been us. For the first time in a very long time, other people are looking at this trade and thinking holy shit, the Philadelphia Flyers are back.
A line of Zegras, Michkov, and possibly Shabanov has me so fucking giddy. The skill of those three alone is going to be a treat, I don’t give a shit about their defensive play(Yes I actually do) as long as they are putting up absurd numbers they can do whatever they want.
For the first time in a long time the Flyers have made a splash and this could be just the start.
Which brings me to the topic of this blog…Now with Zegras coming in, how does this affect the Flyers draft strategy?
It doesn’t at all. Yes, Zegras is going to be playing center here but in his news conference today Briere mentioned that Center is still their top priority.
As it should be. There are going to be some great options available on Friday when the Flyers turn to pick comes. James Hagens is a guy that very well could be there for the Flyers to take and he would be a great addition. But, with them bringing in Zegras he is a smaller guy so they might shift their focus to one of the bigger centers that might be available.
Which would leave guys like Jake O’Brien or my favorite Roger McQueen. Both of those guys would add size for the Flyers down the middle and could be great additions.
Bottom line is that the Flyers have started to address a major need and have bolstered their top 6. This was the first step in the right direction. Now, come Friday it’s time for them to continue to build the pipeline and add some more quality prospects at the center position.
By the way, do not be surprised if this was just the first big trade that the Flyers pull off this week. Danny is looking to strike while the iron is hot and goaltending is another one of their top priorities. I am fully expecting another move to be made to bring in a goaltender by the end of the week.
-Walsh
The Philly Phan Cave 
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