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Flyers should trade Owen Tippett before his no-trade clause reduces the return
Photo credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
David Pagnotta says Owen Tippett, 27, a 2017 first-round pick by Florida, has surfaced in trade talk, and that instantly raises the Flyers' summer leverage.
Tippett is signed through 2031-32 at a $6.2 million cap hit, and his 10-team no-trade list starts July 1.
That matters because Philadelphia can still move first, before the contract gets even a little tighter.
The hockey case is easy to see. Tippett skates, shoots, drives defenders back, and still looks like a clean fit for any team chasing more rush offense.
He has 22-18-40 in 66 games, and the Flyers sit at 31-23-12 with Wednesday's road game in Anaheim next.
Re Owen Tippett/Flyers: "His name popped up a bunch the last couple of weeks; I think the Flyers are in a position where they're willing to listen, but you've gotta make them an offer that entices them to continue the conversation."
- David Pagnotta
- David Pagnotta
Pagnotta's wording is the tell. This is not a clearance sale, it is Danny Briere testing what the market thinks a controlled scoring winger is worth.
That price should start with a legit top-nine center, or a young right-shot defenseman who can stay on an NHL blue line.
Owen Tippett puts the Philadelphia Flyers in control
Flyers fans can feel both sides here, because Tippett still has the tools to pop beside a real playmaking center.
But that is also why this rumor has teeth. Teams pay more for speed, term, and a winger who can live in a top-six without power-play padding.
Philadelphia is deep enough on the wings to listen without blinking. Trevor Zegras, Travis Konecny, Matvei Michkov, Tyson Foerster and Tippett all pull on the same lineup puzzle.
That makes this a roster-construction story, not just trade gossip.
For the next game, nothing changes. For the deadline and summer, everything changes if a team decides Tippett is its missing straight-line scorer.
The Penguins are one of those teams that should at least ask, even casually, because pace on the wing ages well next to skill down the middle.
If Briere moves him, it has to be for a piece that changes the Flyers more than Tippett already does.
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| POLL | ||
MARS 16|99 ANSWERS Flyers should trade Owen Tippett before his no-trade clause reduces the return Should the Philadelphia Flyers trade Owen Tippett before his no-trade list begins? | ||
| Yes | 80 | 80.8 % |
| No | 19 | 19.2 % |
| List of polls | ||