Sean Walker
DISCLAIMER: This piece was made ahead of the Sean Walker to Colorado Avalanche trade.
Current Philadelphia Flyers' defenseman Sean Walker is a curious case. The Flyers are in playoff position, third in their division, and the team seems to be playing well for coach John Tortorella. Walker’s been a vital part of their team defensive play, and it doesn’t make much sense to me why the team would be shopping him, or rumored to be.
Whatever the case, the Avalanche could stand to greatly benefit from adding a player like Walker to the lineup. A defensive minded defenseman, Walker seems to be thriving in Philadelphia this season, with 22 points over 63 games, and holding a +9 overall (goals scored vs goals allowed while a player is on the ice). Walker is on pace for a career high in points, as he had 24 points over 70 games in 2019-2020.
Walker is not a huge guy at 5’11” and about 190 pounds, but uses his leverage well to keep opposing offensive players at bay.
He would likely be a nice fit on the second or third pair for Colorado, and help the overall defensive structure, as they could use it.
Importantly from a salary perspective, Walker is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and only carries a $2.65 million cap hit. With interest in him high across the league, it’s likely the Avalanche would have to offer a significant ransom to acquire his services for the rest of this season. It would likely take one of Colorado’s higher-level prospects as well as a high round draft pick to do so.