Flyers Boss Makes Definitive Statement On Trade Deadline

Just like last season, the Philadelphia Flyers are right in the thick of things for a playoff spot, as they're one of six teams that are within three points of each other for the two Wild Card spots going into Sunday's games.

President of hockey operations Keith Jones appeared on the Real Kyper & Bourne show this past week, and made it clear he is under no illusions on where his team stands in its rebuild phase, and which way his team is leaning as we get ever closer to the February trade deadline.

We’re not going to be adding. We’ll be subtracting... We've been clear about that.
We are not in a position where we're ready to be a Stanley Cup contending team yet. We're gonna battle and try to win every night, but at the same time, we're not losing sight of where we need to get to in order to be a team that can consistently compete for the Stanley Cup.

Host Nick Kypreos then jumped on Jones' honesty to ask him, "As long as the truth serum has not worn off, who are you trading?" After a laugh-out-loud moment, Jones would only say, "Whoever we get the most for!"

The Flyers boss then added, in all seriousness, "We’re open to a lot of ideas, I’ll tell you that, there's no doubt."

But he wouldn't go so far as to name any potential players on the trade block.

"I can't rule out any member of our team not being a part of that future."

But there's nothing stopping us from naming names. We've already brought you speculation on a number of Philly forwards who could be on the move, while D-man Rasmus Ristolainen continues to appear near the top of trade boards around the NHL.

Last year at the deadline, the Flyers were also in the hunt for a playoff spot, but traded defenseman Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche for a first-round pick. Jones expects to be able to try to pull off some similar deals this year, regardless of where his team stands in the Wild Card chase.