Flyers Trade Deadline: Flyers Make Trades for Depth Forward, Defensemen

The bulk of the Flyers work came two days prior to Friday’s NHL trade deadline. On Wednesday, they traded Sean Walker and re-signed Nick Seeler, essentially taking care of their top two trade chips well in advance of the deadline.

The Flyers weren’t completely silent on Friday. They made two trades to acquire depth at both forward and defense for minimal return.

First, the Flyers added forward Denis Gurianov from the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Wade Allison.

Gurianov, 26, is on an expiring contract worth $850,000. He spent most of the season in the AHL, playing in 27 games with 12 goals and 30 points. In 14 games with the Predators, he had just one goal and one assist. 

Gurianov, a former 12th overall pick in 2015, did have success with the Dallas Stars early in his career, scoring 20 goals and 48 points in 57 games in the 2019-20 season. Since that season, his highest goal total in a season is 12 in 2020-21 and 31 points in 2021-22.

Allison, 26, has spent the entire season in the minors in 2023-24, scoring 10 goals and 17 points in 46 games. He played 60 games with the Flyers in 2022-23, scoring nine goals and 15 points.

Additionally, the Flyers added defensive depth, acquiring Erik Johnson from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2024 fourth-round pick. 

Johnson, 35, has three goals in 50 games with the Sabres. He had previously spent 13 seasons with the Colorado Avalanche from 2011 to 2023, including winning a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022. In the prime of his career, Johnson reached 39 points in back-to-back seasons and consistently played Top-4 minutes. He had eight goals and 25 points in 77 games with Colorado in 2021-22, the season they won the Stanley Cup. 

Prior to that, Johnson was selected first overall in the 2006 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues and spent the first four seasons of his career there.