NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers Would Be Crazy to Trade James van Riemsdyk

Philadelphia Flyers left winger James van Riemsdyk has been mentioned in trade talks with the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com:

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I can confirm reports that Philadelphia and Toronto have chatted over the past week. The Leafs have long coveted winger James van Riemsdyk. Sources on both teams, however, told ESPN.com Thursday that nothing was close to imminent on any deal. The Flyers' top priority is to get help on defense, and it just so happens that's where Toronto has extra bodies.

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The Flyers would be insane to trade a young player with so much upside before his 23rd birthday. Even though van Riemsdyk's development hasn't progressed as quickly as Philadelphia likely hoped, he's still got a 20-goal season under his belt in just his third season. There's a lot of room for growth, especially with so much talent around him.

Teams often fall into this trap where a young player with sky-high expectations fails to immediately excel to his maximum potential. It's not a time to give up, however. Most of the time it usually just takes a little patience.

The Flyers have enough leeway to wait on him, which makes this rumor even more crazy. They are currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and are legitimate title contenders, so it's not like they desperately need more production from the blue line.

Improving the defensive corps is certainly something the Flyers should be looking into, but moving a young star like van Riemsdyk to make it happen wouldn't be a smart move.

It would be an overreaction more than anything else. And when a team makes moves like that, it tends to come back and haunt them later.

That's something which should concern the Flyers, as van Riemsdyk would join an already-improved Maple Leafs team aiming to make the playoffs for the first time since the lockout. He would fit right into their style and could break out in a big way.

The last thing Philadelphia wants to see is a motivated van Riemsdyk going up against them in the postseason. That alone should be enough to scare them away from any potential deal.

Hopefully the Flyers front office, led by general manager Paul Holmgren, pumps the brakes on any talks involving van Riemsdyk. The potential upgrade, depending on who Toronto is willing to deal, just isn't worth throwing in the towel on the talented winger.

All told, it's a high-risk move that has a much higher potential of hurting the Flyers in the long run than helping them.