The Flyers Underappreciated Trade Asset

The NHL trade deadline is just over a month away, and the Philadelphia Flyers are drawing interest from teams all over the league with their hot commodities Sean Walker and Scott Laughton (sort of) – but there is one player who seems to be lingering in the shadows.

Nick Seeler is a veteran defenseman who has been a stalwart on the Flyers blue line for the past two and a half seasons, and NHL General Managers should be circling his name and calling Danny Briere to make inquiries.

The 30-year-old (who primarily plays on the left side but has the versatility of playing on the right) has a cap hit of $775,000 which is extremely manageable for contending teams who find themselves in a tight cap situation.

As a player, Seeler is a defensive-minded defenseman who is not afraid to drop the gloves and rejuvenate a team during times of adversity. And, oh yeah…he can also have the occasional moment of GREATNESS. 

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He has played in all 50 games for the Flyers this season, racking up a total of 7 points (all assists, and 6 of them being primary assists). As I said, he’s a defensive-minded defenseman – so let’s take a look at his defensive statistics.

In 50 games, Seeler has blocked 141 shots (2nd in the NHL behind Jacob Trouba), which is good for 9.97 shots blocked per 60 minutes (2nd in the NHL behind Alec Martinez).

In the defensive zone, Seeler has given the puck away 11 times in 848 minutes of ice time – 13 less than deadline target Chris Tanev, who has played 56 more minutes of ice time. To further compare the deadline counterparts, Seeler has drawn 35 minutes of penalties and delivered 65 hits to Tanev’s 6 minutes, and 17 hits.

With the Flames defenseman being a top target for many contenders, it’ll be interesting to see what his price tag becomes as we close in on the trade deadline.

One thing is for sure, Nick Seeler will not get you the same return as Chris Tanev, but maybe teams will consider him a backup target with similar capabilities. If that’s the case, we know that multiple teams are honing in on Tanev, and only one team will come away with him – the remaining teams will play at the hands of the Flyers.

Teams that could be interested in Seeler’s services could be the Vancouver Canucks (who just traded a plethora of assets for Elias Lindholm), Toronto Maple Leafs, and Dallas Stars.

The move would likely make the most sense for the Maple Leafs who find themselves in a tight cap situation and would require the Flames to retain part of Tanev’s salary for a deal to go through.

Seeler could immediately step into the LHD slot on the third defensive pairing and replace the veteran Mark Giordano, moving him into the 7th defenseman role which would create better depth for the Leafs. If they wanted Seeler to shift over to the right side of the ice, he would have no problem doing that either.

With that being said, the team that I am looking out for is the Dallas Stars who have dealt with some injuries on the backline throughout the season. And to be honest…he just feels like a Stars player.

That shouldn’t go without saying that many Flyers fans believe the team should re-sign the defenseman. Although I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed, the blueliner will be 31 years old by the end of the season, and it would make more sense to cash in on his great season to add assets towards the Flyers rebuild.

Mandatory Credit: Getty Images