Rumours: RFA Shane Pinto Linked To Numerous Teams

On Saturday morning, rumours sparked that the Ottawa Senators are trying to negotiate a new deal with restricted free agent Shane Pinto. However, if both parties can not come to an agreement, I have been told that the Flyers among other teams have peaked interest in the 22-year-old. Anthony SanFilippo of Crossing Broad, along with other sources, confirmed that the Flyers have asked about Shane Pinto.

Anthony SanFilipoo believes that the Flyers may have better odds over other teams because the Flyers would take on cap other teams wouldn't. In a rebuild, moving cap and pieces around is a part of building from the ground up, which seems to be the case for GM Danny Briere.


The Flyers may also use the LTIR to their advantage with Ryan Ellis, creating more cap space to make a deal with the Ottawa Senators.


Anthony Mingioni, Senior Writer for Center Ice Philly Magazine, has a theory that a trade piece for Pinto would be a high-upside forward like Morgan Frost.

Player Comparison:

Looking at Morgan Frost and Shane Pinto, trying to see which will have a higher upside is quite difficult. Frost and Pinto are both 24-year-olds, playing in their first full seasons last year.

Shane Pinto played just 5 games in his rookie season and was plagued with injuries and shoulder surgery. The Senators gave him a shot the following season because they knew what he was capable of when healthy. He scored six goals in the first eight games of his rookie season, then in a quick turnaround he played all 82 games of the 2022-23 campaign. Giving him the ability to reach career highs in games played (82), goals (20), assists (15), and points (35). However, playing in all 82 games means more ice time, and Pinto seemed to always be on the ice when the opponent scored; resulting in a -21 plus-minus.

Morgan Frost played just over half of the 2021-22 regular season. Suiting up for 55 games, putting up 16 points with a -11 plus-minus. The following season, Morgan Frost tripled his point production with 19 goals, 27 assists and 46 points in one less game than Shane Pinto.

It is worth noting that Morgan Frost had a better end to the regular season, after John Tortorella moved him up in the lineup and earned more minutes. Right around January 1 to seasons end. Pinto on the hand, lacked productivity in the latter stages and was held pointless in a large portion of games.

Trade Overview:

If a deal is to be made, whether it involves Morgan Frost. The Flyers will have to take on a large cap hit from the Senators and give up a reasonable draft pick. Mathieu Joseph is currently signed to a four-year, $11.8 million contract, which cares an AAV of $2.9M. He is a player who could be involved in a trade between teams, seeing that the Flyers give up a top 6 forward, and a draft pick in order to acquire Shane Pinto (a high-upside forward) and a cap-straining forward in Mathieu Joseph.