Should the Philadelphia Flyers Be Buyers or Sellers at the Trade Deadline?

Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like a given that the Philadelphia Flyers were out of the playoff picture and would consequentially be sellers at the trade deadline on March 5.

But things have turned around dramatically for the Flyers as of late, with an incredible 8-1-4 run over their past 13 games putting them right back in the hunt.

While things look far better than they did, whether the Flyers have a legitimate chance at making the playoffs or not is still up in the air, depending on the narrative you look at.

On one hand, they are currently just four games out of a playoff spot. On the other hand, they still have one team, the Florida Panthers, ahead of them in ninth place in the conference.

Even worse, there is only one team they can realistically catch: the Boston Bruins, who are eighth in the conference with 67 points. (The Flyers have 63.)

The Washington Capitals sit in seventh place with 76 points, so the Flyers are essentially battling with three teams for one playoff spot and are currently in the worst spot of the three.

But the trade deadline is approaching quickly, and some major decisions will have to be made in the face of some difficult cap conundrums. 

Andrew MacDonald and Vincent Lecavalier would obviously be traded if possible. However, they are unlikely to go anywhere because of their awful contracts. But just for the sake of clarity, those two are not who's being discussed here.

There are also the obvious untouchables—Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds—who are not going to be in any deals in the upcoming weeks.

But so many other names have been thrown around, and it's hard to tell what will happen now that the Flyers have at least an outside chance of making the playoffs.

Braydon Coburn is one of the most interesting names. I have already made my case for why he should not go anywhere, regardless of where the Flyers are in the standings. That goes double now that he could be of major assistance in a playoff run.

Same goes for guys like Matt Read and Mark Streit, two other veterans who are probably more valuable to the Flyers than they are in a trade, considering their likely return would not be too high.

Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier are the two most interesting potential trade chips because they still have a lot of value as young, promising centers.

Even with the opportunity for a big return, the Flyers have to look at some of their past cases of trading young players too early and having it come back to bite them.

Each of them is really contributing now, and with a young corps of talented defensive prospects waiting in the wings, the Flyers would do well to solidify them in their core for the near future. This also applies to Scott Laughton, who looked impressive in his short time with Philly earlier in the season.

So should the Flyers buy or sell at the deadline? They should do neither. The Flyers are in a decent spot right now, especially with their recent streak.

The defense is still bad, but blowing things up and giving away young talent to acquire a top defenseman could hurt them in the next season or two. And giving away Coburn or Streit would not at all be worth the immediate blow to an already terrible corps.

With Samuel Morin, Robert Hagg, Shayne Gostisbehere and Travis Sanheim all part of the future, the Flyers need to just hold off and hope they already have an elite blueliner in the farm system.

Of course, MacDonald and Lecavalier should be traded for a bag of pucks, but unfortunately I'm not sure any GM would even give up that much.

Unless a team blows GM Ron Hextall away with an offer, the Flyers need to stand pat at the deadline and make minimal changes. It's the best option for staying in the playoff race now while preserving the future.