Not that it mattered, but there was a pretty good hockey game being played at the Wells Fargo Center Thursday night.

Oh, the usual outcome happened. The Flyers coughed up a third period lead, allowing three goals in 2:08 to lose their fourth straight game, 5-3 to the Washington Capitals. However, if the Flyers can give this kind of performance on most nights, at least the hockey will be entertaining as we slowly walk the Green Mile toward the end of this season.

To their credit, as bad a team as they are right now – and there are only three teams with fewer points and only two teams with a worse goal differential in the NHL – they are still buying in to what is being asked of them. They are still skating hard. Blocking shots. Hell, last night had a little old school element to it, as it got physical. A lot of hits, a couple that were borderline dirty, and yes, there was even a fight.

And because it was a rescheduled game from December, back before things were as bad as they are now, and the first game in a while where proof of vaccination was not required, there was actually a decent crowd.

The announced attendance was 16,886. There were about 12,500 butts in seats, and it was about a 70-30 mix of Flyers-to-Capitals fans, but the crowd was engaged.

More evidence that in this town, if you provide the effort, and play the right way, you will still get support, even if ultimately the game’s outcome has no bearing on your season.

I have a list of things to update you on. Some from the game. Some from around the game. Some from conversations I’ve had with team and league sources. All good tidbits, but nothing that’s Earth shattering just yet.

I’ll try to order them via importance:

Latest on the Claude Giroux trade front

First, let me dispel an internet rumor that has made its way out there based on reports from these B.S. websites that post stories to social media, mostly Facebook, and try to come off as inside information when instead they aggregate information from multiple accredited outlets (and then make assumptions or predictions based off that info that they pass off as gospel without any of it being checked out).

So, the latest rumor is that Claude Giroux has narrowed his list of teams to three – Colorado, Minnesota, and St. Louis – to which he is willing to waive his no movement clause.

This is completely false.

This seems to have stemmed from a tweet from Colorado Avalanche beat writer Adrian Dater from a few days ago:

Now, Dater is really well-connected out in Colorado. And while Minnesota and St. Louis are likely teams Giroux would play for if they come to the Flyers with the best offer, at no point does Dater cut the list off there.

Does anyone really think Giroux wouldn’t play for Florida at this point? Or Carolina? Or even reconnect with the coach who once called him the best player on the planet, in Washington?

It’s too early in the process to eliminate contending teams until the Flyers get to see what their offers are.

At this point, the Flyers have reached out to teams, collected or are still collecting those offers, are scouting some players, and then eventually will present them to Giroux and his agent Pat Brisson, and work together to find 2-3 teams from the group to try and work out a final deal with.

Until that conversation happens – and it hasn’t – Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher will field offers from several teams.

Now, Colorado is at the forefront, and why not? Many people believe this is their year to finally get over the hump and win the Cup. They need a player like Giroux – a second line winger, another talent on the power play, and a good faceoff guy.

We know Briere was out there to scout them last week. Took in an Avs game and also a Colorado Eagles (AHL) game to see some prospects.

But, as of now, word out of Colorado is they aren’t willing to part with either of their top three prospects (center Alex Newhook or defensemen Bowen Byram and Justin Barron) nor are they willing to part with a first round pick (it would have to be in 2023 as they don’t have a first rounder – or a second or a fourth – in 2022).

So, the initial trade package here likely consists of an NHL forward (either Tyson Jost, or J.P. Compher – the Flyers prefer Jost) and some combination of prospects thatt would have to include defensemen Drew Helleson, and likely one of forwards Sampo Ranta, Shane Bowers, or Martin Kaut (the Flyers interest seems to be more in Ranta and Kaut). Maybe Colorado throws in a conditional mid-round pick or something like that in the deal, but that would be a 2023 pick, and likely be in the third round range at best.

Is that enough for Giroux?

It’s a decent package, but Fletcher would be wise to hold out for more. He would be best-suited to see if the Colorado ups the offer and decides to come off their stance of not moving Newhook, Byram, or Barron, or that 2023 first rounder.

It also would give other teams time to put together offers for Giroux.

I had a conversation with someone in D.C. who said that while the Capitals’ top priority is to get a starting goalie for the playoffs (hello Marc-Andre Fleury), that they also need a second-line winger and help on their power play.

I was also told that Flyers director of pro scouting Dave Brown has made the trip down to Washington for several of their home games recently. We know what Caps coach Peter Laviolette thinks of Giroux as a player, and can you imagine him on the PP there on the opposite side of Alex Ovechkin? Boy, that’d be fun.

Anyway, things are starting to ramp up and there are going to be a lot of rumors flying around. Many will be bogus, but some will have merit.

What I’m wondering now is, will Fletcher play out this hand all the way to the end to try to maximize return, and let Giroux reach 1,000 games as a Flyer before trading him? Or will a deal come in that is so lucrative that they make it happen right away? That’s the great unknown that will play out over the next month.

A sneaky good trade return?

Obviously, Giroux dominates the trade conversation around the Flyers, and Rasmus Ristolainen probably comes in a distant second there. But one player who is already starting to get some interest and may end up getting the Flyers a better return than you might think is defenseman Justin Braun.

There’s no doubt that the one position teams covet most at the trade deadline is defense. Whether it’s just adding a depth piece, or looking to solidify a unit by adding a middle pair guy, or even chasing a top end talent to give the team 25 minutes a night.

Braun has quietly had a very good season for the Flyers. He has been thrust into playing on the top pair and frankly, has been the better player when compared to Ivan Provorov.

After all, it was Provorov who made this blunder that led to the game-winning goal for the Caps Thursday night:

https://twitter.com/BrodesMedia/status/1494501925584355329

The simple play is to throw it up the wall to his teammate. Instead, he tries a no-look, backhand pass into the circle. Carl Hagelin reads it, steals it, and sends it to Garnet Hathaway for the game-winning goal. That’s a mistake that No. 1 defensemen never make.

But, we’ve seen an even greater regression with Provorov this season than last. Braun has been solid, if unspectacular alongside him, and it hasn’t helped Provorov.

That said, Braun’s play has been noticeable. He has a wealth of playoff experience. He’s a team-first guy. He’s strong in his own end. He kills penalties. He’s a real good fit for a playoff team in need of defensemen.

Scouts at the Flyers game last night who could be interested were from Los Angeles, Calgary, and St. Louis.

Don’t be surprised if Braun lands the Flyers a second round pick. The Islanders traded a second rounder for Andy Greene two years ago, and Braun is better than Greene. Brandon Montour netted Buffalo a third rounder last season. It’s likely going to be somewhere in that range, and that’s a good return for a guy like Braun.

Gerry’s World

There’s been a lot of social media mocking of Flyers governor Dave Scott after his improvised throw-away line at a press conference a few weeks ago when he turned to Fletcher and said, “And how about that Gerry Mayhew?” Fletcher didn’t know what to say back, just kind of half-heartedly agreed and let out an uneasy laugh before turning tot he media for questions.

It led to this meme:

https://twitter.com/Minkatb17/status/1494481059362258944

Maybe Scott was prescient though, because since his line that set Twitter ablaze, Mayhew has been really good for the Flyers.

He scored twice against Washington and now has five goals this season for the Flyers. He’s played just 15 games. All five goals have occurred in his last nine games.

He’s been an AHL lifer and at 29 is likely getting his last real chance to prove he belongs in the NHL and he’s taking it:

If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that the Flyers would have had a pretty tic-tac-toe goal that went Morgan Frost to Isaac Ratcliffe to Oskar Lindblom to Gerry Mayhew, I would have just laughed in your face. But, times being what they are…

Keep in mind this was Mayhew’s first game back after getting 12 stitches near his eye from his face shield cutting him as he crashed hard into the boards in Detroit Saturday.

He followed that up by going to the net in the third period and giving the Flyers the 3-2 lead that they’d eventually blow:

Interim coach Mike Yeo was asked if he was surprised Mayhew hadn’t been given a real chance to show he belongs in the NHL before now.

“I’m surprised, what Gerry has going for him is that he sees we have 10 guys over him in the lineup and he sees an opportunity. This is the opportunity of a lifetime for him so I don’t wanna take that away by letting him feel comfortable right now, but at the same time I am really happy for him because of his work ethic, because of seeing that he’s been through his whole career to get here. He’s proven it and he’s doing it so I hope he can continue doing it because it’s a great story.”

If nothing else, if Mayhew continues to play the right way, even if the scoring starts to dry up, he’s likely earned himself another shot at the NHL in 2022-23, whether it’s with the Flyers or another team. And frankly, you could do a lot worse on your fourth line in the NHL than a guy like Mayhew.

Crickets on JVR

Once again, the Flyers are looking to move James van Riemsdyk and his contract. I was told by an NHL source that the Flyers are even offering to eat 50% of what’s remaining if a team is interested, and so far, there hasn’t been a nibble.

While the Flyers are willing to carry some of his money into next season, they may not want to buy him out over the summer and have it carry into the following season as well. I wonder if the next step is putting him on waivers and just letting that contract rot in the AHL, assuming JVR would accept the assignment, or, if not, he becomes dead money and, like Toronto is currently doing with Nick Ritchie, the Flyers try and trade him for nothing, either before the deadline or over the summer.

LOOOOOOOOUUUUUUU

In what should be a cool event, the Flyers are honoring Lou Nolan for being their public address announcer for 50 years at an upcoming game.

There will be a pregame ceremony prior to the Flyers game against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, April 9.

Nolan was one of the finalists for the Flyers Hall of Fame this season, and likely will find himself enshrined there at some point.

Details for the pre-game celebration on April 9 will be announced at a later date.