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NHL Trade: Philadelphia Flyers acquire Petr Mrazek from Red Wings

By Dave Stevenson

RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 2: Petr Mrzek #34 of the Detroit Red Wings skates toward the bench during a time out of an NHL game against the Carolina Hurricanes on February 2, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 2: Petr Mrzek #34 of the Detroit Red Wings skates toward the bench during a time out of an NHL game against the Carolina Hurricanes on February 2, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia Flyers have applied a band-aid to their goaltending wound, trading for Detroit Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek

Ever since the injury to Brian Elliott, the Philadelphia Flyers have been searching the rental market for a goaltender. The recent injury to Michal Neuvirth made things accelerate even more quickly. After nearly trading for Detroit Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek earlier, the Flyers circled back and got their guy.

The return, according to the Red Wings, is a 2018 conditional fourth-round pick and a conditional third-round pick in the 2019 draft. Originally, the trade was supposed to be just for a third-rounder. But the price went up just a tad from the last time the Flyers were interested. According to Craig Custance, the Red Wings are retaining half of Mrazek’s remaining cap hit.

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Overall, this makes a lot of sense for the Flyers. They’re at the point where they can start giving up mid-round draft picks. After all, the Flyers have impressive prospect depth and mid-round picks usually have about a 10 percent chance of making it to the NHL.

Mrazek has been very good in the past, but clearly needed a change of scenery. It certainly didn’t help that the Red Wings trust Jimmy Howard more than him. Two years ago, Mrazek had a .921 save percentage and some had him in the Vezina Trophy conversation. However, his save percentage fell to .901 last season. Though it has climbed back up to a respectable .911 this season.

Another reason this is great for the Flyers is it gives them a lot of flexibility. Mrazek will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season. The Flyers don’t have to re-sign him. And, considering their goaltending depth, it’s fairly likely they won’t.

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So really, this trade works well for the Flyers and for Mrazek. Plus, the Red Wings get potentially two draft picks for someone who they had soured on. And if the Flyers really need to keep Mrazek (maybe Anthony Stolarz doesn’t recover well from his injury?), they can easily do so. Credit general manager Ron Hextall for sticking to his price and not overpaying.

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