Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who had 65 points for the Philadelphia Flyers two seasons ago, was a healthy scratch for Saturday afternoon's game against the Calgary Flames, leaving many to wonder if a trade might be brewing involving the 26-year-old.
It is the first time this season that Gostisbehere has not played when he was perfectly able to. He has an average ice time of 12:45 over the last two games and he hasn't scored a point in the past six, which is likely the major reason why he was sitting in the press box for this game. Still, there was plenty of speculation on social media that he's being held out due to a pending trade, although there's no word on that from the Flyers one way or the other.
"I am expecting a little bit more as far as plays with the puck," Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault said of Gostisbehere on Friday. "An offensive defenseman has to have the ability to beat the forecheck and to know when to jump in. I have seen some of that. Ghost is a little bit like our team — he's a work in progress, he can play better, he will get better.”
If there is a move in the works, one has to think Gostisbehere's value is lower than it's been for a while at the moment. After getting 65 points in 2017-18, he dropped to 37 last season, and has just six so far this year, which puts his on pace for a little over 20 points.
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