(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)
By Rob Riches, Sports Talk Philly contributor 
Ron Hextall appears to have made his first trade of the offseason on Friday, as Craig Custance reported a deal sending the rights to Nick Cousins to the Arizona Coyotes.
The Flyers are expected to get a prospect and draft pick in return, though details on that are not immediately available.
Flyers trade Nick Cousins to Coyotes for pick & prospect.
— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) June 17, 2017
Cousins, 23, was selected by the Flyers in the third round of the 2011 Draft, and made his debut in the 2014-15 season. In 77 games as a Flyer, he scored 12 goals and 27 points.
The move gives the Coyotes depth up the middle, and adds yet another young player to their ever-growing young core. If the pick is in this year's Draft, it would give the Orange and Black a 12th selection.
Cousins signed a one-year contract with the Flyers last summer, and was set to become a restricted free agent. The trade gives Hextall one less player to worry about protecting for next week's Expansion Draft.
This is a breaking news item, and will be updated as more information becomes available.
UPDATE 10:19 p.m.: Merrick Madsen, a goaltending prospect who the Flyers selected in the sixth round of the 2013 Draft, has also been included in the deal.
G Merrick Madsen in that Coyotes/Flyers deal too.
— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) June 17, 2017
UPDATE 10:39 p.m.: TSN's Bob McKenzie reports that the Flyers nabbed a 2018 fifth-round pick and Michigan winger Brendan Warren in return for Cousins and Madsen.
ARI sends 5th round pick and Brendan Warren (Univ of Michigan) to PHI for Nick Cousins.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 17, 2017
Warren, 20, is entering his junior season as a forward with the Wolverines. Last year, he registered three goals and 10 points in 35 games.
Described by MGoBlue.com as a "reliable two-way forward," Warren was taken by the Coyotes in the third round of the 2015 Draft after two seasons with the US National Team Development Program.
