Flyers Heavy Contingent Watches Canadiens Game As Nhl Trade Season Approaches

In just a few more weeks, teams around the NHL will open for trade business as they find out who and what their rosters really are, and the Philadelphia Flyers, who will have to make an important decision in that regard themselves, have been busy scouting around the league.

Typically, around Thanksgiving, NHL teams tend to assess if they are playoff-caliber or not, and plan their future business accordingly.

The Flyers, who have won just four of their first 17 games this season, are obvious candidates to become sellers up to and through the NHL trade deadline in March. All signs indicate that general manager Danny Briere and Co. will remain patient with the current Flyers roster until the end of the month before making any big decisions.

In preparation of having to make a tough call on some players, the Flyers have been out and about around the NHL, taking in all kinds of different games.

Previously, we noted that Flyers president Keith Jones had traveled to watch recent games, including Devils-Senators, Rangers-Kings, and Blackhawks-Canadiens.

The latter is especially interesting, given that, on Tuesday night, the Flyers had a heavy contingent in attendance for another Montreal Canadiens game.

According to The Hockey News's own Karine Hains in Montreal, Flyers assistant general manager Alyn McCauley, as well as Lehigh Valley Phantoms coaches John Snowden, Nick Schultz, Terrence Wallin, and Patrick McDonough, were all on-site to watch the Canadiens take on the Winnipeg Jets.

Now, the Phantoms crew isn't terribly unusual, given that the Phantoms will be playing against the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, on Wednesday night.

In McCauley's case, though, this is the second time in recent weeks the Flyers have had an executive - McCauley and Jones - at a Canadiens game.

Despite the Canadiens' epic choke in an eventual 5-4 overtime loss to the Jets, they're still sixth in the NHL with a 9-3-3 record, and second in the Atlantic Division behind the 11-4-1 Boston Bruins.

So, if anything, that loss to the Jets reinforces the fact that the Canadiens are in prime position to be buyers on the trade market throughout the year, something the Flyers could help them with.

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Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj has long been linked to the Flyers in trade rumors; that seems to be the most obvious connection between the two teams.

The Flyers, in need of centers themselves, aren't in a position to offer the Canadiens an important piece behind Nick Suzuki, though Montreal would surely appreciate Philadelphia's breadth of wingers for depth purposes.

Again, we're still at least 2-3 weeks away from trade season officially getting underway around the NHL, but it's notable that, as they continue to flounder, the Flyers are obviously taking notes around the NHL, doing their due dilligence.

And the longer these struggles continue, the more likely the Flyers are to aim for a big change somewhere along the food chain.