Report: Flyers continue to take trade calls on defenseman Ivan Provorov

Provorov, the team's No. 1 defenseman, has regressed in recent seasons and holds a $6.75 million cap hit for two more seasons.

Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov is reportedly still available for the right price.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Gustav Elvin

Published March 1, 2023, 1:03 p.m. ET

A day after Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said he would be willing to listen to “just about anything” when it comes to having trade conversations, TSN insider Darren Dreger reported Wednesday that Fletcher and the Flyers are doing just that regarding defenseman Ivan Provorov.

“The Flyers are taking calls on Ivan Provorov,” Dreger tweeted Wednesday afternoon. “Similar to other top 4 D with term, it would take a large offer to move him from Philly. 26 years old. $6.75 mil cap hit for this season plus two more.”

Provorov’s name being floated as a potential trade chip is nothing new, as there has been sporadic speculation over the past season-plus that the Flyers could opt to move on from the Russian defenseman.

In January, on his “32 Thoughts” podcast, Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Provorov moved before the deadline, and that there had been internal conversations about whether “it was time.”

Friedman added that he didn’t feel like anything was imminent but that he got the sense that frustration from both sides, Provorov and his camp, and the Flyers organization, had mounted. On one hand, Friedman felt that Provorov wasn’t happy with the team’s downward direction, while the organization was disappointed that Provorov never developed into the player they once believed would become one of the league’s top defensemen.

Provorov, 26, has four goals, 18 assists, and a minus-12 rating in 61 games with the Flyers this season, almost exclusively playing on the team’s top pair. He leads the team in average time on ice at 23 minutes, and nine seconds per contest, and ranks eighth in the league in blocked shots with 136. Provorov has twice cracked double digits in goals, including in his second season, when as a 21-year-old he posted career-highs with 17 goals and 41 points. In 511 career games, Provorov has 63 goals, 143 assists and a minus-23 rating.

Once viewed as a rising star, Provorov is still just entering his prime years and surely hasn’t been helped by the bad situation around him in recent seasons. The question for contending teams will be how much Provorov was culpable for the Flyers’ struggles in comparison to just being a byproduct of it?

A contending team, though, could find his talent and pedigree appealing, especially given his ability to log hard minutes and play a heavy game. There’s also an argument that Provorov might unlock his potential with a change of scenery. Under contract for two more years at a $6.75 million cap hit, Provorov would not come cheap, as the Flyers would likely be seeking a package that included a first-round pick, former Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Brian Lawton told The Inquirer in January.

The defender also would not come without controversy, as Provorov refused to wear the Flyers’ Pride Night-themed warmup jerseys last month, a decision that turned into a national story. He was the only member of the Flyers to do so, which didn’t sit well with some teammates, and could potentially deter potential suitors.

This all could be smoke floated by Provorov’s agent or even the Flyers to generate interest, but the reality is the Flyers should be fielding calls on everyone ahead of Friday’s 3 p.m. deadline.