Avalanche trade first-round pick, Ryan Johansen to Flyers for defenseman Sean Walker, according to report
Denver Post
The Colorado Avalanche have joined the arms race in the Western Conference, bolstering an area of strength with the addition of defenseman Sean Walker from the Philadelphia Flyers.
Colorado traded a 2025 first-round pick and center Ryan Johansen, for Walker, a right-handed defenseman who is having a career year in his first season with the Flyers and a 2026 fifth-round pick. The Avs’ first rounder is top-10 protected.
Walker, 29, has six goals and 22 points while averaging a career-best 19:36 of ice time for the Flyers, who are in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but have been adamant about still being a seller before the Friday afternoon deadline. Walker is a pending unrestricted free agent in the final year of a four-year contract that carries a $2.65 million cap hit.
Sean Walker has been really effective at joining the rush this season which should make him a perfect add for Colorado's fast-paced attack. Not sure he's quite as good as his numbers this season, but should still bolster the blue line. pic.twitter.com/GXOC5NBG9R
— dom
(@domluszczyszyn) March 6, 2024
The Avalanche added Johansen in a trade this offseason with the hope that he would fill the No. 2 center role behind Nathan MacKinnon, but it hasn’t worked out. He has one more season left on his contract at $8 million — Nashville retained half of that in the trade with Colorado.
The Flyers have waived Johansen.
This is a developing story.
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