4 Trades the Bruins Must Make to Become Stanley Cup Favorites at the Deadline
By Ryan Bunton
3. Sean Walker, D, Philadelphia Flyers
Boston's defensive corps has suddenly become an area of concern. Reliable defenseman Hampus Lindholm is out week-to-week with an injury, and while there is no reason to believe that he won't be healthy for a playoff run, his absence has exposed a lot of weaknesses on the unit.
The Bruins re-called top prospect Mason Lohrei from Providence, but head coach Jim Montgomery has shown little to no faith in him during high leverage situations, including sitting Lohrei for the final eight minutes while Boston blew a 2-0 lead to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. Derek Forbort has looked particularly shaky as of late, and the emergence of Parker Wotherspoon as a reliable defensive presence on the third pairing could render Forbort expendable. Forbort did himself no favors when he was scratched from Monday's game against Seattle after he missed a team meeting.
On Friday, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman stated his belief that Boston is looking for a defenseman, and one such target could be right-shot defenseman Sean Walker of the Philadelphia Flyers.
As the #LetsGoFlyers try to get Nick Seeler signed to an extension, they still haven’t formally started discussions with Sean Walker’s camp. If he isn’t signed by the deadline, and the price tag for him on the trade market drops, expect the #NHLBruins to engage.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) February 24, 2024
Walker is a six-year NHL vet spending his first season with the Flyers after five seasons with the Los Angeles Kings. In 59 games this season, he has scored five goals and added 16 assists while setting a career high with 19:29 average time on ice. His +8 is Philadelphia's third-highest mark.
Like many others on this list, Walker is in the last year of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent after this season. His cap hit sits at $2.65 million for 2023-24.