The Philadelphia Flyers are a team heading in the right direction, as evidenced by them making the playoffs as the third place team in the Metropolitan Division and defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the first round. They have some star power in Trevor Zegras and Dan Vladar, but it is overall a young roster with a surplus of high draft picks. This could give the Flyers the opportunity in the near future to potentially make a splash trade to bring in a superstar.
Last week, the NHL world was stunned when they discovered that Dylan Larkin requested a trade from the Detroit Red Wings. It was a shocker, considering he is the team's captain. But besides that, Larkin easily became the top center available. The thing is, the hockey world had to wait and see where he wanted to get traded to, since he carried a full no-movement clause. Flyers fans, much like any fanbase were hoping that maybe, just maybe, Larkin would want to be traded to their team.
That is not the case as of now. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that Larkin submitted a three-team trade wishlist, and the Flyers were not one of them. Those three teams are the Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, and Minnesota Wild.
Flyers not on Dylan Larkin's initial trade wishlist
Those three teams aren't necessarily shocking to be included on Larkin's wishlist. After all, they are all Stanley Cup contenders, have stacked rosters, and all feature some of his United State's men's hockey gold medal-winning teammates.
It also goes to show that the Flyers still have a way's to go before they become a premium destination for superstars around the league. The Flyers have been rebuilding for quite some, drafting early and hoping they could get franchise cornerstones for years to come. That is still a work in progress, with young players like Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, Alex Bump, and Denver Barkey all still having chances to grow.
Last offseason, the Flyers made three moves to help them get out of the rebuild. First, they hired Rick Tocchet to be their head coach. Then, they traded for Zegras in a deal with the Anaheim Ducks. Finally, they signed Vladar to a two-year contract. We all know how those moves panned out. Tocchet looks like the right person for the job. Zegras proved to be the scorer on offense that they've been missing. Vladar turned out to be the starting goaltender that they've lacked for so long. Now, Briere is looking to retain both Zegras and Vladar long-term.
As for Larkin, it's entirely possible that his trade wishlist grows, as St. James reports. The reporter can see three other teams making the list, and they are the New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Ducks. Still, no Flyers. Of course, things can always change. This is a tricky situation. Larkin has full say on where he'd like to be traded, while the Red Wings can still just hold onto him if they don't get an offer they deem sufficient enough to finalize a trade.
The Flyers may be another year away from them being a potential destination to the stars.
