NHL rumors: Keith Yandle could be open to trade to two contenders

Keith Yandle might not be long for Florida.

The 2020-21 NHL season is officially underway and while most players are settling in to their respective locker rooms, a few others may already be on the way out.

Last night ushered in the first of 116 consecutive nights of NHL hockey. While there was plenty of action on the ice — like this absurd goal by Sidney Crosby — it wouldn’t be professional sports without just as much drama off the ice.

After John Tortorella confirmed this week that Blue Jackets up-and-coming star Pierre-Luc Dubois wants out of Columbus, it appears we have yet another name to add to the early-season trade list.

Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest tweeted today that the Florida Panthers may be exploring a Keith Yandle trade and that the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers are two potential teams which Yandle would waive his no-trade clause to join.

How would Yandle fit on the Flyers or Bruins?

While Yandle doesn’t carry the same flair as Dubois at this point in his career, he’s still a solid commodity for a team that’s on the verge of making a Stanley Cup run. Yandle’s defensive play has dropped off considerably since his prime as he has been hovering at or below the 50% mark in terms of Corsi for percentage the last few years, but he still exhibits extreme capability in the offensive zone.

Yandle has averaged about a 50-point pace over the last five seasons and tallied a career-high 62 points in 2018-19.  He’s a true power play quarterback and possesses a great first pass out of the zone.

So, how would he fit in both Boston and Philly?

Boston Bruins

The Big Bad Bruins are looking a tad thin on their back end following the departures of Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara.

While Chara isn’t the player he once was, he was still a terrific leader and would do anything necessary to keep opposing players at bay. Not to mention he’s a mountain of a man.

Yandle wouldn’t be asked to fill this sort of role, and the team is already hoping to fill that role young defenseman Jakub Zboril alongside Kevan Miller.

Yandle would likely see similar usage to Krug.

Krug is perhaps one of the league’s more underrated defensemen in the league and was Boston’s most reliable defender. He could generate offense at even-strength, break up plays while shorthanded and command the Bruins top power play unit with ease.

You don’t find that sort of skillset everywhere and while Yandle won’t provide the overall game that Krug can, he certainly could quarterback the Bruins power play and offer a Krug-lite smattering of offense at even strength.

As it stands, the Bruins have about $3 million in cap space, so some slight finagling would have to be done by general manager Don Sweeney, but if the need is there, Yandle definitely fits the bill. Although the Bruins might be standing by until Oliver Ekman-Larsson is available.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers are a curious case. While they would no doubt benefit from a caliber player like Yandle, his role may already be filled by multiple defensemen on the team.

Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Phil Myers, Shayne Gostisbehere and Erik Gustafsson are all capable of quarterbacking a power play and exhibit plenty of skill in the offensive zone. In fact, just last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Flyers second power play unit notched two goals off the stick off Erik Gustafsson.

However, much has been made in Philadelphia about Gostisbehere’s inability to recapture the level of play that saw him score 13 goals and 65 points in 2017-18. Injuries have played a role in his decline, but his time in Philly may be coming to a close.

Perhaps a “Ghost” for Yandle swap might be beneficial to all parties involved?

The Panthers would shed cap space and add a hometown defenseman who still has a lot of skill, and the Flyers would add a veteran presence on their young blueline who also can get you 50+ points if used correctly.

Aside from cap concerns, the Flyers would also have to be wary of the expansion draft looming just on the horizon. With names like Provorov, Myers and Sanheim needing protection, general manager Chuck Fletcher may not want to add Yandle if he requires protection due to his No Movement Clause.

That being said, if the Flyers — or the Bruins — consider themselves serious contenders this season, Yandle is a solid auxiliary player that would help make that goal attainable.