Mixed into the chaos of NHL trade deadline day, the Philadelphia Flyers made two smaller moves that flew under the radar.
The first, Flyers GM Danny Briere made another AHL trade. This time, Philly swapped forwards Alexis Gendron and Massimo Rizzo for forward Brett Harrison and Jackson Edward from the Boston Bruins.
It was an interesting trade that basically swapped two ECHL players, Edward and Rizzo, and two AHL players, Gendron and Harrison.
Rizzo was a former University of Denver standout who could never really make it work in the AHL, so I was not surprised to see the Flyers move on and give him a change of scenery. I was a little shocked to see Gendron move, as he was a 20-goal scorer for the Phantoms last season and had a really good training camp. He never had a chance to make the roster this season, but I saw him pushing for a fourth-line role in future years.
As for the players the organization got in return, I do not know a whole lot about them. Edward is a former London Knight and played with both Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey. Harrison is a former 3rd round pick, and is set to break his career high in AHL games played (46) and points (17). He has already tied each number with the Providence Bruins this year. Both players are over 6’2″ as well, for whatever that is worth.
Read More: Rasmus Ristolainen Not Traded By Flyers Before the Deadline; Full Analysis
Flyers claim Luke Glendining off waivers
The Flyers’ other move was a waiver claim. Philly claimed former New Jersey Devils centerman Luke Glendening.
Glendening, 36, has had a long NHL career, playing 916 games in his 13-year career. Aside from his brief stint with the Devils, he has spent two years with both the Lightning and Stars. The Grand Rapids, Michigan, native also spent the first 8 years of his career with the Detroit Red Wings.
He is very much a defensive player. Despite playing over 900 games in the NHL, he only has 170 total points, with 83 of them being goals.
His main contributions come as he is excellent at faceoffs, coming in with a career 55.6% at the dot. Glendening is a very defensively responsible player and should be an excellent penalty-killer.
Since Rodrigo Abols went down with an injury, the Flyers have had some trouble finding stability at 4C. Carl Grundstrom, who is not a center, is currently playing in that role. Glending looks like he’ll be getting a chance to take the role for the Flyers.
He can debut with the team as early as Saturday at 5:30 p.m. EST against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Read More: BREAKING: Flyers Trade Bobby Brink to Wild for Young Defenseman