The Flyers traded Nicolas Deslauriers to the Hurricanes on Friday in exchange for a conditional 2027 seventh-round pick.
Deslauriers, a 35-year-old veteran winger, was set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. He had served mostly as the Flyers’ extra forward over the last two seasons.
Earlier in the day, the Flyers traded Bobby Brink to the Wild.
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The Flyers signed Deslauriers in July 2022 to a four-year, $7 million contract. As one of the NHL’s toughest players, Deslauriers took pride in protecting his teammates and never shied away from dropping the gloves.
“A great teammate,” Briere said, “a great protector for our guys the last few years.”
As Deslauriers had gotten older and the Flyers turned younger, he lost his everyday role on the fourth line. Over the last two seasons, he played a combined 55 games and only 7:50 minutes per game.
With Carolina, Deslauriers will get a chance at a playoff run. He’ll very likely be an extra forward on a deep Hurricanes team, but when called upon, he’ll know his role.
“Nic wasn’t looking to leave, he loves it here, I think he even said his family’s not going anywhere, they’re staying in the area,” Briere said. “But he said, ‘If you need to trade me, I’m open to it, I don’t have a problem.’ So I said, ‘Look, we’re not trying to trade you, but if you want to have the chance to go chase a Cup, we would give you that opportunity.’ … Nic has earned that right for everything that he has done for his teammates, for our players, for our organization. I felt like it was the right thing to do for him.”