The Philadelphia Flyers need a top-4 defenseman, especially with recent injuries. At the same time, the Buffalo Sabres have had a poor start to the season, leading to what could happen moving forward with certain players once again. This is a recipe for a trade as Bowen Byram, Owen Tippett, and Emil Andrae could be on the move.
There are reasons why each of the players mentioned may not be long for their teams, but that will be looked at below.
Philadelphia Flyers Need a Defensive Upgrade
The Philadelphia Flyers have one win through four games, but they look like a team that could be competitive with a couple of more moves. The defense is a place that they must continue to address.
Cam York just played his first game of the season, but the team still has Nick Seeler slotted in as a top-4 defenseman. That just isn’t an option the Flyers should run with if they want to really compete. He is absolutely an NHL defenseman, but a solid third-pairing guy, not more.
The Flyers have plenty of options on the wing, have a good amount of cap space to work with this season, and will have a boatload in the offseason to make additions to take that next step. They also have enough smaller defensemen with 23-year-old Jamie Drysdale and 24-year-old Cam York in the top-4. This opens the door for Tippett, coming off a down year, and Andrae, another small defenseman who didn’t make the Flyers out of camp, to be in trade discussions.
Anthony Di Marco said, “Could the Flyers target Byram in a deal centered around forward Owen Tippett and defenseman Emil Andrae?” After last season and Byram looking for more as a top-4 LD, this could satisfy the higher price to acquire the Sabres’ young d-man, especially after signing for two years.
Tippett is under contract for six more years after this one at $6.2 million AAV with no trade protection kicking in until next year. “Andrae, as I reported last Friday, could be on the outs in Philadelphia long term.” He is in the third and final year of his entry-level deal at $903,333 AAV. Byram has a $6.25 million AAV cap hit and will be a UFA in 2027. Given the circumstances and outlook of the future, York and Byram lining the left side while Travis Sanheim and Drysdale play on the right in the top-4 looks promising.
Sabres Require NHL Players in Trades
The Sabres stopped making trades that didn’t bring back NHL talent, choosing to swap Dylan Cozens for Josh Norris at last year’s trade deadline. That hasn’t worked out, but if Buffalo doesn’t continue to try, they are headed for a long-lasting mediocrity or headed back to a rebuild.
Di Marco also said, “I can tell you that the Flyers have had interest in Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram in the past, but were reluctant to pay the cost to acquire him, along with disagreeing on the agent’s view of the player’s worth.”
Byram’s contract is in place, Tippett can score, has NHL experience, and is locked in long-term, and the Sabres would get another defensive option back with Byram being moved in this proposed, possible trade between the Flyers and Sabres.
Kevyn Adams is in the hot seat in Buffalo, and Danny Briere has done a good job in Philadelphia since taking over as GM. It is a trade that makes sense as the teams have been linked to one another in the past. Both need to make a move this season.
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