NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers Badly Need Defensive Upgrades

The Philadelphia Flyers are reportedly scouring the NHL trade market for much-needed defensive reinforcements, but which players are actually going to be worth their while?

After the Ryan Ellis trade, the Flyers have $6.64 million in cap space, which allows them the opportunity to target virtually any player they want as far as salary goes.

We know that Egor Zamula had a poor preseason, which resulted in Adam Ginning overtaking him in the Flyers' lineup. Next to Ginning could be Zamula, Noah Juulsen, or Dennis Gilbert--it's really anyone's guess this early into the season.

That said, it's been reported that the Flyers are going to exhaust their external options at the position.

"Not sure we’re going to see much trade action too early, but Philadelphia is definitely checking what’s out there on defence," NHL insider Elliotte Friedman briefly reported in his "32 Thoughts" column on Tuesday.

We can already comfortably say that the Flyers aren't going to be trading assets for an older player, nor will they add a smaller, offensive-minded defenseman to the fold.

It's not in their team-building philosophy, and that's why, evidently, Emil Andrae was left off the Flyers' roster in favor of inferior options like Zamula and Gilbert.

The problem for the Flyers is that good teams usually look for defensemen around the playoffs and NHL trade deadline, so they'll be reduced to striking a deal for a younger player, and likely one in need of opportunity and/or a change of scenery.

I could see some interest in a player like Emil Lilleberg in Tampa Bay, a 6-foot-2 bruiser who scored 19 points in 76 games last year while racking up 105 penalty minutes but has since fallen out of favor.

Would there be mutual interest in an Emil-for-Emil trade that swaps Andrae and Lilleberg? It could work for Tampa Bay if they want some extra offensive juice and puck-carrying from the blueline from players not named Victor Hedman and J.J. Moser.

Bowen Byram has been floated again, and the Flyers have been linked to him before, but he's no defensive stalwart. Byram could excel with first-unit power play time, but that would mean less opportunities for Cam York and Jamie Drysdale by default, and the Flyers are still invested in the success of those players.

Rising stars like Thomas Harley and Philip Broberg are in the last years of their respective contracts and are due for big raises, but it's unlikely that either player is dealt by teams aspiring for the postseason in St. Louis and Dallas.

Shai Buium, the older brother of Zeev, is playing in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins after playing his first pro season last year. There's also Jordan Harris, a formerly promising Montreal Canadiens prospect who made the Boston Bruins as the presumptive seventh defenseman.

NHL Waiver Wire: Flyers Should Take a Chance on Recently Cut 11th Overall PickWith perpetuated struggles on defense, the

Like Friedman noted, the Flyers aren't likely to find many willing dance partners before they even play Game 1, but they have plenty of options, especially when it comes to low-risk, high-reward choices.

Byram could be a big swing for the Flyers, but I'm not overly optimistic about the fit in Philadelphia given the way the team's roster is currently constructed. And, no, New Jersey is not trading Simon Nemec to a division rival.

The Flyers should be actively working the phones moving forward, but don't expect an immediate resolution to the issue that is the team's defense, which was only further exacerbated by York's new injury.