A report has emerged from TheFourthPeriod.com that Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall is seeking to add a top-6 forward to the roster and would be willing to part with a number of players in order to make that happen.
Among the names TFP says the Flyers would reportedly be willing to part with are defenseman Luke Schenn, Braydon Coburn and Nicklas Grossman, and forward Brayden Schenn, the younger brother of Luke.
The 23-year-old Brayden Schenn is a former top draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings, fifth overall, who was brought to Philadelphia along with Wayne Simmonds via a trade for Mike Richards in June 2011.
Schenn, who started the season on Philadelphia's top line alongside Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek, was demoted earlier this week and is now being actively shopped by the team.
TFP Senior Writer Dennis Bernstein, citing a league source, first reported Schenn's availability during Saturday afternoon's TFP LIVE show on NHL Network Radio on SiriusXM.
Schenn has collected 41 goals and 49 assists for 90 points in 197 games, to date, with the Kings and Flyers.
David Pagnotta, also a writer for TFP, says that nothing is imminent, but that Schenn's name is definitely out there.
Hextall is also reportedly interested in adding to his less-than-stellar defensive corps, but there doesn't seem to be a quick fix there.
As Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News notes, free agent Francis Bouillion, 39, turned down a contract offer from the Flyers last week.
Seravalli also writes; "Hextall is seeking a player with a very specific set of parameters: someone who can control play in the defensive zone, will likely only be here for this season so as not to clog the path for the Flyers' impressive prospects, and won't cost much to acquire."
With such specific needs, the defensive hole to fill on the Flyers roster gets bigger and more glaring. But as Seravalli notes, the Flyers salary cap constraints may leave them in a position where only a massive, organization shifting move will make any other subsequent moves possible.
