Philadelphia Flyers Place Defenseman Matt Walker on Waivers

According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the Flyers placed defenseman Matt Walker on waivers on Thursday.

Walker, 30, dressed in only four games for the orange and black after being acquired in the Simon Gagne trade from Tampa Bay. He didn’t register any points.

With Chris Pronger back from injury, the Flyers deemed it best to waive Walker and his heavy $1.7 million cap hit to sit in the press box.

It was only a matter of time before the team’s eighth defenseman was waived.

What this means for the Flyers is that they’re content with their depth at the NHL level with Oskars Bartulis being their seventh defenseman, but they would like to keep Walker in the system.

Should Walker clear waivers, he’ll be assigned to the Adirondack Phantoms.

It also may be a sign that the Flyers plan to be active at this year’s trade deadline, which is Feb. 28 at 3 PM.

The Flyers can afford a player with a yearly cap hit around $3 million, according to Dustin Leed of The Fourth Period.

Another possibility is that a contract extension with pending free agent Ville Leino could be in the fold sometime in the near future.

Because the Flyers weren’t forced to dump salary, it’s safe to speculate that general manager Paul Holmgren is up to something.

What it is, however, nobody knows.

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