Kevin Hayes linked to post-deadline trade deal.

The Philadelphia Flyers were probably a lot less active at the National Hockey League's trade deadline than many of their fans had expected the team to be, and it was perhaps for that reason that Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher proved to be so blunt with the media when facing questions after that deadline had wrapped up on Friday.

While the Flyers didn't move any of the big pieces many had predicted that they would ahead of the deadline, players like veteran forward James van Riemsdyk, veteran forward Kevin Hayes, and even defenseman Ivan Provorov, it does sound like the Flyers may have laid the groundwork for trades that could be coming in the not so distant future.

On Saturday, NHL insiders Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek discussed the performance of both Fletcher and the Flyers and the deadline and, more importantly, what will come next for the Flyers as they move forward from what is a failed season. Both Friedman and Marek appeared to indicate that they believe a trade involving Kevin Hayes is very likely to happen sometime this summer, likely at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, and that the destination for that trade will be the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"I think there's probably something there," said Marek of Hayes on the 32 Thoughts podcast.

"For me with Hayes I look at Columbus," said Friedman. "To me that's potential draft to Columbus or after the season to Columbus, I think that's a possibility."

Marek would proceed to drop a little nugget of information, revealing that there had in fact been talk between the Flyers and the Blue Jackets leading up to this year's NHL trade deadline.

"There were some talks between the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus," confirmed Marek. "They were described to me as 'soft talks' but there were conversations between the two sides. So I wouldn't be surprised if this happened in and around the draft."

Both men cited the friendships that Kevin Hayes has in the NHL as another factor strongly linking him to the Blue Jackets, with both Johnny Gaudreau and former NHL player Rick Nash being highlighted as two examples.

"I have heard Columbus and Columbus is going to look for a center with more experience," said Friedman. "There are some people in that organization that think really highly of Kevin Hayes."