NHL trade deadline: James van Riemsdyk stays with Flyers after reported Red Wings deal fizzles out

Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk stayed in Philadelphia on Friday due to a series of strange events that unfolded just minutes before the NHL trade deadline.

Elliott Friedman of Sportsnet informed a deal was made to send van Riemsdyck to the Detroit Red Wings, but that deal quickly fell through.

Van Riemsdyk never got back his usual scoring approach from yesteryear, scoring nine goals in 41 games for the Flyers in 2022-23. At the end of October, the 33-year-old player underwent surgery on his finger, because of which he missed more than a month of performances.

The New Jersey native is in the final season of a five-year, $35 million ($7 million) contract he signed with the Flyers in 2018. He was selected by the Philadelphia with the second overall pick in the 2007 draft. . He turned into a constant threat, scoring 20 goals with the Toronto Maple Leafs, spending six years with the franchise before returning to Philadelphia as a free agent.

Philadelphia has already set their sights on the draft lottery, currently ranked seventh in the competitive Capital Division. The failure to recoup the veteran’s asset on his expiring contract is no doubt a disappointment for Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher.

Fletcher said he has not received a “firm offer” from any team to trade van Riemsdyk and that he has only discussed the scope of a deal with one team (presumably the Red Wings), according to TSN and The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun. The trade would depend on the other team making another move that was not successful.

Even without the addition of van Riemsdyk, the Red Wings were busy ahead of the deadline. They traded Jakub Vrana to the St. Louis Blues on Friday and sent defenseman Philip Hronek to the Vancouver Canucks earlier in the week. Detroit also extended captain Dylan Larkin’s contract by eight years on Wednesday.