The Philadelphia Flyers are looking to trade defenseman Braydon Coburn by Monday’s trade deadline, according to CSNPhilly.com’s Tim Panaccio.
Panaccio notes that “teams are calling,” something TSN’s Darren Dreger can back up in a broader sense, as he reports that the Flyers are fielding calls about their defense in general.
Coburn, 30, will see his $4.5 million cap hit expire after the 2015-16 season (when he brings in a $4 million salary), so the lure would be relief next season, not just in 2014-15. Considering the staggering amounts of cash involved, this seems far fetched, but at least one journalist wonders if a team might take a rough contract off Philly’s hands to land Coburn (or another Flyers blueliner):
Question: If the cost of prying loose a serviceable Dman from Flyers is taking on Vinny Lecavalier's contract, would/should Calgary do it?
— Eric Duhatschek (@eduhatschek) March 1, 2015
Coburn is currently in his ninth season with the Flyers. Injuries have caused him some obvious issues this year, limiting him to 39 games played.
He’s also seen a significant drop in ice time - perhaps due in part to injury issues - as he’s logging 20:14 per night as opposed to the 22+ minutes he’s averaged the past three seasons.
Even with that overall drop, Coburn could be quite desirable to a team hoping for a veteran to soak up tough minutes; his 3:01 shorthanded average easily tops all Flyers skaters and ranks 19th overall in the NHL.
This isn’t the first time Coburn’s name has surfaced in trade rumors - the Edmonton Oilers have been cited as a possible suitor more than once - but it’s at least a situation to watch considering how shallow the talent pool is this year.
