On Monday afternoon, it was reported that the Flyers are going to be reluctant to move veteran defenseman Sean Walker at the trade deadline, and will look into giving him a contract extension in the offseason. To nobodies surprise, Flyers fans on social media immediately had a negative reaction to this move, but one NHL insider is urging Flyers fans to just relax and wait.
Flyers fans, like all Philadelphia sports fans, are quick to form opinions and often see the negative's before they see the positives. Is Sean Walker one of those elite defensemen like Cale Makar? Absolutely not. But Walker is having the best season of his career with the Flyers and after being sent to the Flyers for pretty much nothing, Walker has exceeded expectations.
Prominent Flyers reporter Charlie O'Connor noticed the negative backlash from fans, and is urging fans to just wait and let the new Flyers front office stick to their plan.
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"I agree that signing Sean Walker to a contract in the $4-5 mil AAV range doesn't make much sense RIGHT NOW. But it's still worthwhile to figure out what it would cost to bring him back. Maybe circumstances change over the next few weeks/months & it could be defensible."
Nobody knows what the plan of Danny Briere and Keith Jones is yet, especially with the Flyers turning a rebuilding season into one where they are staring at a playoff spot.
From the surface, it appears that the Flyers are locking up guys like Walker and Ryan Poehling who are key bench players, so that way they can land a big star in the future via trade or free agency.
"If the Flyers re-sign Walker without making other moves to shake up the status quo to make it a more logical move, I'll be critical of it. But not yet. Given that, you know, it hasn't happened yet. And based on my convos today, it's not particularly close to happening, either."
