Report: Flyers cutting ties with Ivan Provorov in 3-team trade

After seven seasons in Philadelphia, Ivan Provorov’s tenure with the Flyers is coming to an end.

The new front office in Philadelphia makes their first trade as they are sending the 26-year-old defenseman to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a three-team deal.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported the news.

In the trade, the Flyers will be receiving Swedish defensive prospect Helge Grans, defensemen Sean Walker, goaltender Cal Petersen, the 22nd overall pick, the Los Angeles Kings’ second-round pick, and the Blue Jackets’ second-round pick.

The Kings will retain 30 percent of Provorov’s salary. Next season, Provorov will be in his fifth year of a six-year, $40.5 million deal ($6.75M cap hit).

Provorov was drafted in the first round of the 2015 draft with the seventh pick and was praised as the defenseman of the future. He entered the NHL in 2016-17 and scored six goals and 30 points while averaging 21:59 time on ice. The following season he made a tremendous jump as he scored what is still a career-high 17 goals and 41 points while averaging 24:09. He was so impressive in his first two seasons with a poor partner, it was exceptional.

Provorov had a less-impressive season in 2018-19 before a resurgence the following season in large part because of his partner, Matt Niskanen. Ever since Niskanen retired, Provorov’s play descended and he had a spot on the chopping block ever since.

After former Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher attempted a few trades that did not work out, new GM Danny Briere did what the previous front office would not, get the deal done.

The 26 year old ended his time in Philadelphia missing only 3 games, all of which were due to COVID. He scored 65 goals and 217 points in 532 games, averaged 24:05 TOI, blocked 1,035 shots, and delivered 693 hits.

Cal Petersen was selected fifth-round in 2013 by the Buffalo Sabres. In parts of five seasons at the NHL level, all as in Los Angeles with the Kings, he has played in 101 games, started 94, and posted a 44-42-10 record with a 2.92 GAA and a .905 SV%. He signed a three-year contract with a cap hit of $5 million in 2021. After, he went 9-18-5 but recorded a .911 SV% and a 2.89 GAA. He struggled to meet the standard of his heavy cap hit and found himself playing for the Ontario Reign of the AHL.

Defenseman Sean Walker has been in the NHL five-year. He has played 232 games, recording 16 goals and 67 points. Walker is coming off a season where he was lowered to the bottom defensive pair on the Kings, but still played in 70 games and provided the team with three goals and 13 points while averaging a career-low 14:50 TOI. He has one year remaining with a cap hit of $2.65 million.

Helge Grans was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Kings. The 6’3” 205-pound right-hander is only 21 years old with two seasons of AHL experience. Grans played two seasons in the SHL before he began playing for the Ontario Reign of the AHL. He scored seven goals and 24 points in his first season in 56 games, adding two goals and nine points in 59 games this past season. He represented Sweden at the World Juniors in 2021-22 where he recorded four assists in seven games.

Brier’s first move as a general manager has been made, and there is defiantly more to come.