It could be an interesting offseason for the Philadelphia Flyers.
The team’s general manager, Ron Hextall, said Wednesday he would be open to trading one of his goalies – either Steve Mason or Michal Neuvirth.
“The old saying, ‘Wayne Gretzky got traded, right, so?’ I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘No, I wouldn’t trade anybody on our team,’ because the reality of it is, if the deal was right it’s my job to strengthen our team and the organization,” Hextall told reporters at the Flyers training facility.
Mason started 53 games for the Flyers during the regular season but struggled in the playoffs. He allowed 12 goals in three games against the Washington Capitals before the team turned to Neuvirth, who was lights-out in the three post-season games he played.
Hextall mentioned he feels Neuvirth has what it takes to be a No. 1.
“He proved it to himself. He proved it to us,” Hextall said. “On the other hand, [Mason] did the same thing. Mase played the last month and a half and was terrific.”
The Flyers also have a number of decisions to make on pending restricted and unrestricted free agents.
Both Mason and Neuvirth are slated to become unrestricted free agents following the 2016-17 campaign. Mason’s salary cap hit is $4.1 million compared to $1.625 million for Neuvirth. Neither player has a no-trade clause.
