Report: Flyers Keeping Tabs On Stanley Cup-Winning Defenseman
Daily Faceoff's Anthony Di Marco reports Philadelphia is keeping an eye on Calgary Flames defenseman Zach Whitecloud as it continues looking for size on the back end.
"A defenseman with a similar archetype of Zach Whitecloud of the Calgary Flames is something the Flyers would be looking for," Di Marco wrote, adding that the search for defensive depth isn't currently a top priority for the team.
A Need That's Been There All Summer
The Flyers already run two smaller defensemen in their top rotation in Jamie Drysdale and Cam York, and adding someone built like Whitecloud, listed at 6-foot-2 and 218 pounds, would give the group a different kind of look.
It's the tiniest sample size, but the Flyers showed some major defensive concerns in Wednesday night's 7-0 blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
MATTHEW KNIES AND ZACH WHITECLOUD WASTE NO TIME 🥊 pic.twitter.com/SWePbcLmx5
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 6, 2025
Whitecloud isn't a new name in trade speculation.
He was flagged as a potential chip for a rebuilding Calgary team back in September, due to his affordable $2.75 million cap hit through 2027-28 as part of what makes him appealing to other clubs.
At the time, Calgary's own front office had reportedly shown no real intention of moving him, with Whitecloud having fit in well enough after arriving from Vegas in the Rasmus Andersson trade to be viewed as something of a mentor to the Flames' younger defensemen.
Nothing in Di Marco's reporting suggests Philadelphia has made contact with Calgary or that a trade is close, to be fair.
Whitecloud won a Stanley Cup with Vegas in 2023, giving him playoff pedigree a team like Philadelphia, still building toward legit contention, would value if the situation ever turned into an actual pursuit.
