Two teams linked to Flyers in offseason Kevin Hayes trade

Let's get something out of the way here: Philadelphia Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher blew it. Big time. There's no way around it.

With the Flyers well, well, weeeeeell out of the Stanley Cup Playoff race this season, Fletcher's only goal heading into the NHL trade deadline should have been to maximize his assets and to recoup future assets for veteran players and players on expiring contracts. Makes sense, right? The team stinks, they need to rebuild. So out with the old and in with the new, right?

Problem is, Fletcher did barely ANYTHING at the deadline to make his team's future brighter.

Sure, he traded Zack MacEwan and Patrick Brown for late round picks, but that hardly moves the needle. What about trades involving James van Riemsdyk, Kevin Hayes or Ivan Provorov? No dice.

There were rumors that Fletcher was trying to move van Riemsdyk, but that teams couldn't afford him at his $7 million price tag, even if the Flyers were willing to eat some of that salary in a trade. Hayes' name was thrown around a bit, but with a $7.14 million price tag the next three seasons, he's likely even more difficult to move.

Let's be clear though, Hayes is a quality player. He may not be worth over $21 million the next three seasons, but let's not forget that he's an NHL All-Star. The 30 year old forward is likely to establish a new career high this season with 17 goals and 49 points in 63 games for the Flyers this season. Again, he's a good player and I suspect that there will be a market for his services this summer should Fletcher elect to shop him on the open market.

In fact, in his latest 32 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman cites the Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes (maybe) as two interested parties.

Check it out:

I don’t think there was much with Kevin Hayes and Carolina, but I do think there’s something with Columbus. Two of his biggest fans — Johnny Gaudreau and Rick Nash — are there.

- Elliotte Friedman

Carolina makes the most sense given their status amongst the NHL's true Stanley Cup contenders but... Columbus?

The Blue Jackets are in the running for the draft lottery this season and look nowhere close to competing for a playoff spot, let alone a Stanley Cup run. Hayes' connections to Johnny Gaudreau and Rick Nash make sense but... well... not much else makes sense about this, in my opinion.