Walker's Great Start For Flyers Shoots Him Up Trade Bait Board

Sean Walker has been one of the NHL's early surprises after being sent to the Philadelphia Flyers this past summer. The Los Angeles Kings were looking to free up space on their back-end, particularly the right side, so Walker was one of those casualties.

He never stood out in Los Angeles with all of the talent on the back-end, but he has stood out in Philadelphia and been a top-2 defender on the team through a quarter of the season. In five seasons in the NHL, he had never averaged over 19 minutes per game and even got as low as 14:50 ATOI last season. That has greatly changed on the Flyers as he is a top-four defender averaging 21:23 ATOI while getting time on the power play and penalty kill.

All of last season Walker scored three goals and 13 points. Through 22 games he has already scored three goals and has 10 points. This is a perfect example of a new opportunity that can allow a player to really show what kind of player they are in the NHL. And with that, the Flyers have a great trade chip on the last year of his four-year deal at a good value ($2.65 million AAV).

On The Athletic rankings of trade candidates, Walker is fifth and there is likely already a good amount of trade interest in him. It is likely that since the Flyers are still competing for a playoff spot right now, nothing will be done. But when the trade deadline draws closer, they will have to make a decision. While the Flyers should be rebuilding and moving assets like Walker, there is a chance they re-sign him, though that would only make sense if they aren't being offered a third round pick or higher.