The Flyers traded bruising winger Wayne Simmonds to the Predators in exchange for forward Ryan Hartman and a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick, the teams announced after Monday’s trade deadline. The deal, first reported by The Athletic, came in just before the buzzer at 2 p.m. CT, with details of the agreement not coming in until after the time had passed.
The conditional pick will improve to a 2020 third-round pick if the Predators win at least one round in the 2019 postseason.
Simmonds, 30, has been one of the premier power forwards in the NHL over the past few years. He’s recorded at least 24 goals in six of the past seven seasons, including a four-year stretch with 28-plus goals a year from 2013-14 through 2016-17.
However, Simmonds saw his playing time dip to 16:33 per game this season, down from 18:05 the year before, and with his contract set to expire after this season, the Flyers decided to move him rather than let him walk.
The Predators have been aggressive Monday in bolstering their forward group for a Stanley Cup run. The team already agreed to trade Kevin Fiala to the Wild for Mikael Granlund. With Hartman going to Philadelphia in this deal, Nashville has deftly swapped a pair of young forward for more productive players who could make a difference this postseason.
Hartman, the Blackhawks’ first-round pick in 2013, began his career with the Hawks before being traded to the Predators before last year’s trade deadline. The 24-year-old is signed to a one-year, $875,000 deal and will be a restricted free agent this offseason. He’s recorded 10 goals and 10 assists in 64 games this season while primarily playing a bottom-six role with Nashville.
