No, he wouldn't. Among other reasons, by the time the Flyers are ready to contend again, Pacioretty will be a UFA . Provorov 's next contract (which will be at the same time) is going to be an expensive one on the cap. Simmonds, if re-signed rather than traded, will be on an expensive deal right in line with Pacioretty's.

Nothing about this rumor fits in with Hextall has been adamant about doing. I have been there in person when Hextall has been very direct --- on quite a few occasions, including this year- - about the types of trades he will not make. He has never deviated from that plan. He has said that philosophy might change ONLY when he feels they are one player away from making a win-now move justifiable. The Flyers aren't at that point yet.

Also, on the reverse.side, it's not the right deal for the Habs at present.
- bmeltzer

"I have been there in person (with) Hextall"
I love you Billy! LOL

Scoring was an issue with Pac. Mtl is going to hurt this year and with regards to the Flyers the biggest issue is the area they NEVER address. Goaltending??? Elliot isn't the answer either
- millhouse

Yeah, those 35 goals were a major issue

makes 0 sense for the habs. that said they basically just gave away their best prospect in the system by letting radulov walk for nothing and replacing his production with druin costing them more money and sergachev so maybe its not that ridiculous.

This deal makes sense if Hextall has soured on Sanheim and plans to flip MaxPatch (either at the TDL or sooner), and Montreal has decided to go with a mini-rebuild centered around youngsters Drouin, Galchenyuk, and Danault. In other words, this deal doesn't make any sense.

Just curious, Bill, what did you think of Jersey picking up Johansson? Same position, similar scorer, and on the same 2 year, $4.5 mil per deal. My guess is that it was essentially a free asset that Shero will flip at some point, probably for a dman. Of course, they are so far under the cap that they could re-sign him (or extend him sooner) if he wants to play in Jersey beyond two years if they keep him that long.
- T-Train

I can confidently say that there is no possibility that Hextall has soured on Sanheim. All reports coming out of the organization are glowing towards Sanheim and they remain extremely high on him.

Win at all cost was no longer working. The cupboard was bare. Cap maxed out with crappy contracts. It's taken 3 years to she'd that garbagr Holmgren gotvus into. We still have Andrew MacDonald and Matt Read like an albatross around our neck. Yes, I hate Missing the playoffs. But there is a clear path forward. It's not like playing roulette at every TDL or during free agency. This is better.
- section32

Neither contract is an albatross. Hextall was as much involved in the macDonald deal as Holmgren was.

macdonald and read will be phantoms

the albatross' are filppula and giroux
- watsonnostaw

Filppula is in the last year of his deal and he could make a nice trade deadline chip to trade. Expecting Giroux to bounce back.

Can you please explain how you created this rumor w/ legitimate sources?

This doesn't make any sense. First off, Travis Sanheim is a top 10 NHL defensive prospect. His skating ability is his greatest strength, combined with his hands and puck moving ability give him a ceiling as a top-2 defensemen. What needs improvement is his play in the defensive zone without the puck.

No chance I or Hextall would move an elite (and I use this word almost never) for a winger who will take ice time from TK/Weal/Lindblom and is not a lock to re-sign.

This is #fakenews

I can confidently say that there is no possibility that Hextall has soured on Sanheim. All reports coming out of the organization are glowing towards Sanheim and they remain extremely high on him.
- MJL

I know, that's why I said, "In other words, this deal doesn't make any sense." It is too far-fetched under seemingly the only plausible scenario.

Deal makes no sense if a GM makes the deal with the intent to flip him he is a bad GM. What logical sense does it make to trade your top D prospect for a player you are going to trade? No one is going to give you more value for him than you received. People thought Bishop was acquired by LA to be flipped and I said that was stupid and woudnt happen. It didnt and LA didnt even make the playoffs. Not to mention that there is no guarantee he could trade him either. The scenario makes 0 sense.

If the Flyers were to trade anybody they would trade a D prospect for a top forward prospect or deal away some older players like Giroux who will turn 30 soon.
- xShoot4WarAmpsx

I know, that's why I said, "In other words, this deal doesn't make any sense." It is too far-fetched under seemingly the only plausible scenario.

Yeah let's just trade a guy that pretty much carried the franchise on offense for a prospect.

Let's forget he's still a top scorer.
Still in his prime.
Still on a low contract.

Let's risk trading him for potentially nothing.