Sean Walker trade destinations: 6 teams that could be interested in the Flyers

Could trade season be kicking off sooner rather than later? The Nikita Zadorov deal could be a flash in the pan until the deadline nears, but considering how many teams need help on the blue line, it could also be the start of more trade movement.

There’s a handful of selling teams with defenders to spare, and maybe even more buyers this year. That’s what pumps up the value of someone like Sean Walker.

Walker may not be the sexiest name on the trade board, but if the Philadelphia Flyers opt to move him, there should be a lot of teams looking to add him. While the Los Angeles Kings’ depth knocked him out of the rotation, he’s carved out a top-four role with the Flyers. Some of his value stems from the sheer fact he’s right-handed, a coveted position in this league. Then there’s the two-way impact he’s made this season, which is the best of his career. Walker is rocking a 58 percent expected goals rate at five-on-five and is a standout on both ends of the ice relative to his teammates. The defenseman has clicked in different combinations and roles in Philadelphia and tends to be the one driving the results in his pairing — thanks to his ability to play aggressively with the puck on his stick to generate offense, and without the puck on his stick back in his own zone.

Why would the Flyers move him? They don’t have to — and if they want to ride the wave of their early season success and see where it takes them, it’s in their best interest to keep the defenseman in their top four. He’s been everything they could have asked for to open the season and more. But realistically, Philadelphia seems to be keeping the big picture in focus and that means furthering the rebuild. There may be a few NHL-caliber players kept around to maintain the locker room culture and help contribute on the ice to support young talent. But management can only afford to keep so many of those types of players around — and a pending unrestricted free-agent defenseman may not be one of them.

That’s really the only reason the Flyers would consider moving someone who has been such a strong presence on their blue line this season. The 29-year-old is on an expiring contract and could be a rental to a contending team in need of a boost on defense. The fact that he’s so inexpensive, at just $2.65 million on the cap, should only make him all the more intriguing to teams in search of another defenseman.

Which teams could or should be interested?

The Leafs are likely to be a fixture in any conversations involving defensemen on the market as they’ve needed help all season. The Timothy Liljegren injury strained the team’s blue line early on and John Klingberg’s disastrous start only emphasized the need for help on defense. Klingberg going on LTIR opened up cap space for the Leafs to make a necessary move, which seemed necessary to alleviate Mark Giordano’s workload. Then Giordano also got injured, making this all the more pressing.

A lot of…