The Avalanche traded for one of the more highly-coveted right-handed defensemen on the market Wednesday, announcing the acquisition of Sean Walker and a 2026 fifth-round pick from the Flyers in exchange for center Ryan Johansen and a 2025 top-10 protected first-round pick. The Flyers subsequently placed Johansen on waivers. If the first-round pick ends up being a top-10 selection, it would transfer to 2026, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.
Walker, 29, began his NHL as an undrafted free agent signing by the Kings in 2018 after spending a season with their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. He made his major league debut that year, impressing with three goals and 10 points and a -8 rating on one of the league’s worst offensive teams. His possession numbers out of the gate were strong, posting a relative CF% of 3.6 at even strength in primarily defensive-zone usage. He quickly became a full-time fixture, playing in the majority of the Kings’ games across the COVID-shortened 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns. However, a torn ACL and MCL ended his 2021-22 campaign after just six games.
While he was cleared to play when 2022-23 rolled around, he didn’t look like the same player. Walker tumbled out of top-four consideration in L.A., averaging a career-low 14:50 per game while posting a 51.4 CF% at even strength that was slightly below the team average. He was a healthy scratch at times, too, making his $2.65MM cap hit an unaffordable expenditure for a Kings team looking to load up last summer.
As such, he was traded to the Flyers last summer in the three-team blockbuster that also saw Ivan Provorov head from Philly to the Blue Jackets. It turned out to be a necessary change of scenery for Walker, who’s rediscovered his confidence and has once again blossomed into a capable top-four blue-liner. With six goals and 22 points in 63 games, he’s on pace to break his career-high of 24 points set in 2019-20, and he’s also averaging a career-high 19:36 per game. He’s had impeccable possession impacts, too, logging a +13.9 expected rating and a 53.6 CF% at even strength, playing primarily alongside journeyman shutdown blue-liner Nick Seeler, who’s nearing an extension to remain in Philadelphia. Both were pending UFAs.
Walker will slot in as a more defensively responsible partner for Samuel Girard on the Avs’ second pairing. He replaces 2019 fourth-overall pick Bowen Byram, who Colorado dealt to the Sabres in exchange for center Casey Mittelstadt in a subsequent trade Wednesday. Notably, three of the Avalanche’s top four defenders are listed at under 6 feet, but their core is still remarkably similar to the defense that led them to a Stanley Cup championship just two years ago.
With all their first-round picks in store for the next three years (and after making two first-round picks in 2023), parting with one for Walker is a sensible cost to pay for a team looking to capitalize on the primes of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar for a second championship. Ridding themselves of Johansen, who fell short of expectations with 23 points in 63 games this year, also clears a crucial $4MM off their books through next season. If he clears waivers and reports to the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he’ll cost a slightly reduced $2.85MM against Philly’s cap.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the trade.
Sportsnet’s Eric Engels was first to report that the Flyers received a first-round pick, while Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports specified it will be in 2025.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was first to report that Johansen was heading to the Flyers.
The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta was first to report that Johansen was being placed on waivers.
1st pls.
Headline changed from “acquired” to ” close to”. LOL
Briere keeps making good moves.
Surprised the flyers are selling anything with where they are in the standings
They’re ahead of schedule. No reason to buy, but they weren’t going to part with Walker or Seeler (whom they just extended) without a 1st. This might also explain why they were willing to take back RyJo’s contract to do so, which the Flames weren’t willing to do when offered nearly the same thing for Tanev.
They are early in the rebuild. Walker is 29 and an UFA this offseason. This is a good haul considering he was almost like a throw in for the Provorov deal.
The Flyers are only where they are in the standings because of Torts’ coaching style, getting true elite goaltending from Errson & Hart (before he went on leave), and the Metro division being at its worst in over a decade.
The Caps, Pens, Devils, & Isles have all criminally underperformed and/or their cores are aging and likely no longer peak. And Columbus is too busy shooting themselves in the foot. Many don’t know how good of a job Torts did last year. If it wasn’t for him and Hart in goal, they would’ve finished with the worst record in hockey last year. They finished higher in the league because they ground out a lot of loser points in OT/shootouts.
The reality is the flyers aren’t a contender. Their rebuild likely won’t be the 5 year process people thought this time last year. But they’ve gotten blown off the ice by truly elite teams. Outside of Tippett & Konecny, they don’t have any elite playmakers. They win games by shooting everything they can and grinding teams out. But that’s not sustainable long term.
They lack any real scoring punch. This deal was great. But it feels a bit bad given that they re-signed Seeler to a 4y deal worth $2.7M AAV to be a competent 3rd line D man.
The flyers shouldn’t be looking to trade guys for the sake of it. But if they get good offers they should be considering trading anyone outside of maybe their 3-4 best players.
It is amazing that the Metro absolutely collapsed enough for a very bad Flyers team to be in a #3 spot.
Torts should be a shoo in for Jack Adams based on that roster.
He should definitely get consideration. But right now I would put my money on Knoblauch. The turnaround the Oilers made after firing Woodcroft, most hockey writers, are probably salivating at the idea of giving him the award since Edmonton looked dead and buried.
This is exactly why anyone calling for the Flyers to make any kind of win now trades are crazy. This season is a good bonus for some of the young guys to get experience, but the Flyers need to make use of all their draft capital the next 3 years to help build the next core of guys like Michkov, Bonk, Drysdale, Ersson, Konecny, etc. Even signing high priced UFAs this offseason makes no sense.
Win now trades are why they are currently rebuilding. It’s why they have a relatively weak system outside of Michkov. It’s why they have unmovable contracts like Sanheim & Risto now and formerly unmovable guys like JVR.
Watch the Flyers play any team in the East, watch when they share the ice with true, elite players. Slavin, Aho, Pasta, Kucherov, any of the Leafs top guys, Tkachuk, etc. and you can see the flyers have zero elite players. Maybe you can get lucky and make a Blues like run to a cup. But that’s the 1% where everything breaks for you. With the salary cap, the analytic driven movement in many front offices, you need to create a sustainable model & pipeline to keep competitive. Unless you hit on 2-3 elite guys and save enough money to fill the holes around those players.
It’s why everyone not named Michkov should be thought of as tradable. Don’t make the move for the sake of it. But like today, why extend Seeler? Unless he shows an offensive side of his game he’s been hiding this whole time, he’s not being traded for then extended. If he loves Philly so much, trade him and get maybe 2 draft assets and/or a lottery ticket juniors player. Then re-sign him to a new deal in the summer.
Lastly, seasons like this is also why they’re in this current situation. From the Hextall years, guess what? Drafting 12th through 18th isn’t optimal. Yes, you can always strike and find a diamond later, but a lot of times you end up with just decent middle 6ers and 2nd pair defensemen. Just like the flyers have right now. They’re lucky Michkov fell to them at #7 but you can’t keep getting lucky. The easiest way to expedite a rebuild is to draft top 5 and neither this roster nor Torts is gonna let that happen (at least how the team is currently constructed).
This is why Scott was forced out as Flyers chairman and Fletcher was sent to go work at Sportsnet the rest of his life. They tried taking shortcuts with an aging Giroux and Voracek as their core instead of trading them sooner then doubled and tripled down going all in. Briere and Jones won’t make that mistake. I do think the current path they are taking is better than the path teams like the Habs are doing. Tearing things down to the studs is difficult to make work. Look at how long teams like the Sabres have been irrelevant no matter how much talent they drafted and acquired.
The Flyers weren’t too dissimilar to the Sabres until they hired Briere & Jones. The handling of guys like Eichel tells you there’s something wrong in the Buffalo organization just like Columbus. And Montreal is tough because the climate is similar to that of NY. The fan base won’t be patient forever with a rebuild and it’s only a matter of time before they turn if there’s not improvement over the next 1-2 years.
Yes, the Flyers hired more Flyers guys and can get that obsession out of their system. But at least Briere played the game in the last 10-15 years. The Flyers organizational fetish of big tough guys that can hit, block shots, and play 200 ft hockey has put them behind the 8 ball. Torts is 100% a Flyers hire and he’s done a great job but I would also argue at the expense of maybe some of their wingers & centers blossoming into special attacking players. If they can develop a guy into a point per game player I don’t care how shit he is defending.
Briere as a player was not the mold of a “Flyers Guy” and there’s no GM in the history of the Flyers that would’ve taken Michkov there. Not even Hextall. That pick proved to me that something would be different, if only a little bit.
I’m 100% convinced that the Jones hire was more to use his connections and personality to connect Briere with guys across the league and make him comfortable in their circles. I’ll be honest, I was upset seeing the Seeler extension today. I was hoping he would get shipped out along with Walker to acquire more draft assets. But outside of that move and maybe the Staal signing (please for the love of god shot that man directly into the sun), Briere has been batting 1.000 right now.
I agree with most of what both you guys are saying BUT I have no problem with the 2.7m AAV for Seeler & would look to move Konecny NOW!
Blown off the ice by truly elite teams? Not true at all. After tonight’s win against Florida, they’re 5-0-1 against the top teams on the road
What’s up with the Johansen thing? I don’t get the motive/objective.
Walker wasn’t enough for the 1st? Johansen immediately on waivers? Does he literally have negative trade value? I haven’t been watching the Avs but if so what an abrupt turn of the tide on him.
Walker wouldn’t have been worth a 1st on his own, but the Flyers got that return by taking back RyJo who had become a cap dump with his poor performance this year. They do have to be careful as they are now down to 4.9M cap space for next year.
I don’t think that 4.9 factors in Ryan Ellis going on LTIR.
Oh, I see that Seeler’s extension isn’t on CapFriendly either. Then in that case they will very likely spend the year in LTIR. Only need to sign a goalie and a couple depth defensemen barring trades.
They still have a retention slot so there’s also the option in the offseason or next deadline for a guy like Risto to be traded at 50%.
Maybe retain on an expiring like Atkinson, Konecny, or RyJo if brought back from the dead. Risto’s 3 more years and already retaining on Hayes for 2 more is going to be such a doozy.
Ask me how I know? I’m a Sharks fan. Maybe we can help someone out with our 36.7M cap space.
I have a feeling they want Konecny to essentially be the Simon Gagne of the next time they are contenders. Atkinson would be nice to trade, but he is cooked.
Colorado looking really good for the playoffs especially if Nich and Landy are healthy. Maybe the best in the west
Would a team like San Jose take on Johansen if they trade away a guy like Duclair..
I’d like the Sharks to consider something like that. But not Johansen specifically because that’s the opposite direction of what Philly just did.