Two years ago, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher was made an intriguing offer by Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff – a 1-for-1 hockey trade of young and mercurial goal scorer Patrik Laine for young and mercurial defenseman Ivan Provorov.

Fletcher didn’t dismiss the trade offer out of hand. Laine was a 40-goal scoring talent who needed a change of scenery. The Flyers really could have used the offensive boost.

But although Provorov was playing more inconsistently than they would like, the Flyers still felt that his durability, talent, and desire were too much to give up on and that he would bounce back to being the All-Star quality defenseman they projected him to be when they drafted him number seven overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Fletcher passed on the deal, and Laine was traded to Columbus instead. Maybe Fletcher was gun shy. After all, he had once traded defenseman Brent Burns as he was heading into his prime, and he became a dynamo in San Jose. It could be disastrous if he did that again.

In reality, Provorov at 24 was still too valuable to let go.

Now, two years later, Provorov’s name is circulating in rumor mills again, only this time, it’s likely the Flyers won’t be so reluctant to move him. Then again, if they do, and it remains a big “if” at this point, they probably won’t get a player of Laine’s caliber in return.

That’s not to say Provorov’s value has plummeted, because it hasn’t. It’s just that there are enough questions about him that the chrome has lost some shine.

There’s no doubt the Flyers will be sellers at the March 3rd trade deadline. Although they have been competitive in most games, and recently won four straight, the chasm between them and the teams who are competing in the Eastern Conference was on full display at the Wells Fargo Center Sunday night.

While most of the city was taking part in a subdued celebration of the Eagles limping into their NFC Eastern Division title and top seed in the NFC playoffs, the Flyers were being pummeled 6-2 by the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that is far superior but, one could argue, is only the fourth-best team in the Eastern Conference.

It was, in the famous words of Philadelphia media icon Ray Didinger, a reality check. Because although the Flyers have been playing a better brand of hockey, their four game-winning streak came as a result of facing three teams behind them in the overall standings, and all four games came against teams who give up more goals than they score.

So, facing the Leafs was the “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore” moment for the Flyers.

It likely could have been the breaking point for Provorov, too.

Word first leaked out today about the Flyers potentially shopping Provorov on the 32 Thoughts podcast:

When Elliotte mentions that Provorov is frustrated, he’s telling you, in a roundabout way, so as to not divulge too much information, that Provorov isn’t happy in Philadelphia any longer.

And that shouldn’t be a surprise. He’s been through the ringer here in his career, but at the same time, he needs to own part of that. Yes, the Flyers failed him in providing the kind of reliable, steady partner that he feels makes him a better player – only one season with Matt Niskanen seemed to appease Provorov.

At the same time, the soon-to-be 26-year-old defenseman never elevated his game to the point where he was a bona fide No. 1 guy, even though he was given every opportunity to be that guy.

Sure, he shown flashes, but a true No. 1 defenseman elevates his partner (and other teammates) and doesn’t need his partner to elevate his game.

No offense to my partner on Snow the Goalie, but did Chris Therien make Eric Desjardins a better player or did Desjardins make him better? Sure, they complemented each other well, but the reality is Desjardins was one of the best defensemen in the sport. Bundy, without Rico as his partner, is probably more of a second-pair guy.

Provorov has yet to elevate his partner in a similar fashion.

All the losing is getting to Provorov too, so much so that, according to team sources, Provorov has expressed to coaches that he is unhappy with the fact that he no longer has a regular role on the power play, which is one of the worst power plays in the NHL.

It’s typical of a guy whose flaws have always been borne out of trying to do too much instead of playing a simpler style.

That kind of try-harder approach sometimes comes off as difficult to work with and unwilling to be accountable, because the feeling is he can always justify his action or actions by identifying what he was doing right that led to things going wrong.

It’s not like he’s openly pointing fingers at teammates, but it can certainly be interpreted that way. And sometimes, the optics, even with your teammates, matter the most.

Provorov is uber-competitive, and all the losing seems to have beaten him down. So, being willing to fall on swords all the time gets old.

He continues to play a lot of minutes and do the things he’s always been asked to do, but while a lot of other 20-somethings have shown signs of growth or improvement in coach John Tortorella’s more structured system, Provorov’s game has plateaued – and not at the level he was when he posted 41 points in 2017-18 or the even more impressive 36 points in just 69 games in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season.

Instead, he has leveled out more akin to where he was last season – not bad, but less productive offensively and solid but not spectacular defensively.

Torts talks frequently about finding out which players are going to be here when things eventually turn around and which ones aren’t – and Provorov has slinked much closer to the latter than the former.

According to two sources, the Flyers have begun putting feelers out on Provorov, but have been unimpressed with what has come back so far from opposing teams.

It’s early yet. There’s still seven weeks to the deadline, so offers could and likely will improve, but the Flyers aren’t in a rush to trade him at the deadline either. They could, sure, but they might wait to the offseason to get more teams interested and make it a seller’s market.

What is Provorov worth? It’s hard to say for certain, but I think Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic is in the right ballpark:

Provorov is signed for two more seasons after this one at a cap hit of $6.75 million, which is palatable for a player of his durability, stamina and potential.

Players like that are not normally moved at the trade deadline, but if the situation become more untenable – like it was for Laine in Winnipeg two years ago, you could see the move happen, and not right at the deadline either.

It was interesting to hear Friedman mention Winnipeg again, too. Provorov would be a really good fit there for a Jets team that is going to be among the three or four in the West with a legit shot at reaching the Stanley Cup Final. He wasn’t just throwing a dart there. He’s probably gotten a little bit of intel. It could be from the Provorov camp – which could mean that’s his preference – especially since he played junior hockey in Manitoba, and is comfortable/familiar with the area.

Or, it could be from sources with either the Flyers or the Jets. Considering Cheveldayoff was interested before, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he still was, especially now when Provorov wouldn’t cost as much as he did two years ago.

There’s no doubt the Flyers really need to get creative and smart about how to restructure this team. They have to start clearing salary cap, for sure, and they need to start compiling future assets. Aside from Travis Konecny, who is playing like one of the best players on the planet lately, Provorov is the one player on the roster who would bring the Flyers a really good haul in a trade.

Now it’s not a matter of if… but when.

And it wouldn’t be surprising if Provorov asks that question of management every day until it happens.

Quick Hitters from the game

Tony DeAngelo was benched by Torts for 39 minutes Sunday. He had one turnover in the first period that led to one goal, and another in his first shift of the second period that almost resulted in a second tally:

Neither Torts nor DeAngelo wanted to talk about it after the game, although DeAngelo did say that no player agrees with getting benched. He was a healthy scratch the game before he had a family emergency and had to leave the team last month, so it’ll be interesting to see how this situation proceeds as well.

Another guy who had a brutal game was Morgan Frost. He had not one, but two turnovers that ended up as Maple Leaf goals:

Frost is really an enigma. His season has had games where watching him play was like hockey eye candy, he’s had games where he’s been just OK – like the hard candy in the bowl on your grandmom’s coffee table – and he’s had games where he’s been horrendous – making you wish you were doing something else – like licking a lollipop ad on the side of a bus perhaps – than watching him play.

The problem is, while many of the other young Flyers have seemed to show real growth playing in Torts’ structured system, Frost has had zero consistency. He has half a season to figure it out. I’m not confident he gets there.

Also:

  • Carter Hart had his worst game of the season. Really just, not good. Two leaky goals. A mishandle of the puck behind his own net. He needs to flush this one and get back on the horse.
  • Some positives – Want to see a game where plus/minus lies to you? Go back and watch Owen Tippett’s game. He was very good, and yet, he was a minus-3. It seemed like every time he was on the ice the Flyers had a chance. The fourth line brought it every shift. Nic Deslauriers snapped a 31-game goalless drought, and it was a just reward. That line was really good for the Flyers. Konecny scored for the sixth straight game. Ho-hum.
  • On a non-hockey note, a year after completely missing remembering the team founder and long-time owner and chairman Ed Snider on his birthday, the Flyers pulled out all the stops. The team wore Snider Hockey jerseys in warm-ups, and showed videos in the arena that exhibit how his legacy lives on through the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation. They’ve even reconnected with the Snider family, as Ed’s daughter Lindy was in the building to be part of the festivities. All credit, when it’s due, and this time, Valerie Camillo and her team on the business ops side of the organization hit a home run. They’ve been doing a lot of that lately. We see it, and the fans do too.

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