Flyers trade Brown, MacEwen; retain van Riemsdyk

Brendan Lemieux
      VOORHEES, N.J. – The Flyers did make two personnel moves prior to Friday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline but neither of them included veteran left wing James van Riemsdyk, who many expected to be moved.
      General manager Chuck Fletcher did send center Patrick Brown to the Ottawa Senators for a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
      Fletcher also acquired left wing Brendan Lemieux from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for right wing Zack MacEwen.
      In addition, the Flyers picked up a fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft in the deal.
      Perhaps the most eye-opening event was Fletcher’s failure to move van Riemsdyk, a potential unrestricted free agent come this July.
      Early in the afternoon, there were media reports that van Riemsdyk was headed to the Detroit Red Wings.
      But around 2:45 p.m., that alleged deal apparently fell through.
      Meanwhile, just hours before the deadline the Flyers had activated MacEwen from the injured reserve list. He had been sidelined multiple weeks with a fractured jaw.
      Lemieux, 26, was a a second-round pick (31st overall) of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
      Known for his physical play, he’s accumulated 463 penalty minutes in 257 NHL games in a career spanning three teams: Winnipeg, the New York Rangers and the Kings.
      MacEwen, also 26, has been a hard-working fourth-liner for the Flyers over the past couple seasons. In 121 games, he registered seven goals/18 points with a minus-24 and 164 penalty minutes. He’s making $925,000 per year.
      Lemieux gives the Flyers a proven enforcer, one who can drop the gloves with the best of them. When he was a member of the Rangers, he got into a number of physical altercations with the Flyers.
      Earlier in the day, the Flyers activated forward Tanner Laczynski from the injured list. He’s been sidelined since December with a lower-body injury.
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Wayne Fish has been covering the Flyers since 1976, a stint which includes 18 Stanley Cup Finals, four Winter Olympics and numerous other international events.