Three goals this preseason, the last of which was certainly highlight material, hasn't kept Philadelphia Flyers forward Brayden Schenn's name out of the NHL trade rumor mill. While there's no doubting Schenn's talent, it's his inconsistency and tendency to lose focus that has seemingly kept him from blossoming into the player the Flyers thought he could be when they acquired him as the central piece in the Mike Richards trade with the Kings. Now-Flyers GM Ron Hextall was an executive with the Kings when that trade was consummated, which may or may not mean something for Schenn's future with the Philadelphia organization. But considering he started this offseason on the fifth line and remains there even after his sudden burst of scoring likely doesn't bode well. Neither does a recent report from Darren Dreger of TSN.
Dreger, appearing on Vancouver's TSN 1040 on Tuesday, revealed that Schenn's name has been "on and off" the trade list over the past season. New Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol obviously wants to take a close look at a player who was once the first-overall pick in the NHL Draft, but who has failed to make the impact expected of him to this point - though Schenn did set a career-high of 47 points last season for Philly. Still, Dreger is certain of only one thing - Schenn's name is "out there."
"There's no doubt about that," Dreger said, via TodaysSlapShot.com. "I know the St. Louis Blues, as example - we're going to talk about this a bit on in Insider Trading tonight - there's a team that's looking for a top 9 forward. Schenn makes some sense, but he makes a lot of money and he might be too expensive for the St. Louis Blues and a lot of other teams.
"But at least as far as media circles go, Brayden Schenn - his name is out there. But again, it's so early, it's really tough to find any traction with one specific team."
Still just 24, Schenn still has ample time to turn into the dominant forward nearly every evaluator in the NHL once though he could be. If his goal against the New York Islanders on Saturday is any indication, he's certainly trending in the right direction.
But if he wants to stick with the Flyers - or in any NHL lineup, really - he'll have to find the consistency to his game that has, thus far, eluded him.
