Flyers Trade Simmonds, Assign Bailey to Phantoms
INSIDE AHL HOCKEY HQ - While general manager Chuck Fletcher and the Philadelphia Flyers weren't overly active leading up to Monday's trade deadline, they did deal forward Wayne Simmonds to the Nashville Predators just prior to the 3 p.m. ET deadline - receiving 24-year-old impending restricted free agent forward Ryan Hartman and a conditional fourth round draft pick in the 2020 NHL Draft that becomes a 3rd round pick in 2020 if the Predators advance to the second round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring.
The good news for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms is that the Flyers received the same number of NHL roster players as they traded away, meaning the AHL roster remained untouched. In fact, they gained another forward to the roster when the AHL's transactions page revealed that the Flyers had loaned Justin Bailey to Lehigh Valley, and Fletcher confirmed in his post-deadline media availability that Bailey's loan to the AHL came prior to the 3 p.m. ET deadline and that he was staying with the Phantoms for the time being.
Defenseman Phil Myers and forward Corban Knight were also re-assigned to the Lehigh Valley Monday afternoon to be made eligible to play in the AHL down the stretch and in the post-season. Both Myers and Knight were immediately called back up to the NHL after the 3 p.m. ET deadline - using two of the Flyers' four available recalls for the remainder of the regular season.
The Phantoms loaned forward Alex Krushelnyski to Reading (ECHL) Monday afternoon as well, as the team has several extra healthy bodies up front.
What It All Means For The Phantoms
While Bailey is going to be a welcomed addition to a Phantoms' team that has slowly dipped below the playoff line in the Atlantic Division after a 3-6-1 span in their last 10 games, it still leaves the Phantoms with 15 healthy forwards with potentially two more injured guys - Cole Bardreau and David Kase - hoping to make a return sometime in March.
That depth will be good to have during 3-in-3 weekends, but juggling the lineup and managing the rotating of guys on-the-fly is easier said than done - all while sometimes being forced into lineup decisions because of the amount of older players on the roster.
There's still the veteran issue. The Phantoms have seven veterans on the roster, which is two more than they can put in the lineup for each game. Managing the veterans, some of whom have been on the Phantoms' roster for the past several seasons, can be difficult. Hockey players want to play. It's easier to rotate guys in 3-in-3 weekends, but moving forward it will be interesting to see the rotation of who's in and who's out each night.
Phantoms' Roster Post-NHL Trade Deadline
Goalies (2): Alex Lyon & Mike McKenna
Defense (7): T.J. Brennan (V), James de Haas, Mark Friedman, Zach Palmquist, Philip Samuelsson (V), David Schlemko (V) and Reece Willcox
Forwards (18): Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Justin Bailey, Cole Bardreau (inj), Connor Bunnaman, Greg Carey, Chris Conner (V), Byron Froese (V), Tyrell Goulbourne, Mike Huntebrinker, David Kase (inj), Pascal Laberge, Jori Lehtera (V), Colin McDonald (V), German Rubtsov (out for season), Steven Swavely, Carsen Twarynski, Mike Vecchione and Mikhail Vorobyev
What's Next?
In the short term, it's a food week of practice leading into a 3-in-3 weekend Friday in Syracuse.
After the weekend, depending on the results of the three games and where the 31 AHL teams stand, the AHL trade deadline on Monday, March 4th gives teams a chance to add AHL-contracted players to help their playoff push.
For the Phantoms, the forward depth is certainly there and the goaltending tandem of Lyon and McKenna is more than solid.
Having another option on defense for the stretch run - with the future of where Phil Myers plays out the rest of the season and when he comes back to Lehigh Valley unknown - isn't a bad idea and depending on which AHL teams are out of the playoff race and who's available it might be an option for the Phantoms to add a depth defenseman prior to the AHL deadline.
