The Philadelphia Flyers and their fans won’t look back on the 2022-23 season with any fondness.

With core players such as Sean Couturier, Cam Atkinson and Ryan Ellis sidelined indefinitely, they’re mired near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Barring a dramatic reversal of fortune, they’re going to miss the playoffs for the third straight season and the fourth time in five years.

In early December, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said he and head coach John Tortorella are building a foundation for the future, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Giana Han. Fletcher avoided using the word “rebuild,” but he moved off from what he described last summer as his plans for an aggressive retooling of the roster.

Whatever Fletcher wants to call his plans going forward, it’s likely to involve becoming a seller by the March 3 trade deadline if his club remains out of playoff contention.

The rumor mill hasn’t wasted any time mentioning Flyers players who could be on the move by the deadline or perhaps in the offseason. Veterans such as James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Hayes surfaced in media chatter leading up to the recent holiday roster freeze.

Which players could Fletcher put on the trade block in 2023, and where could they end up? What type of return could he hope to get? That’s what we’ll try to sort out as we look at possible win-win trade scenarios for the Flyers and their potential trade partners.

Kevin Hayes to the Dallas Stars

Despite sitting second among Philadelphia Flyers scorers, Kevin Hayes might not have a future in the City of Brotherly Love under head coach John Tortorella. In mid-December, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wondered if the Flyers might buy out Hayes due to rising tension with Tortorella over his defensive play (h/t Philly Hockey Now’s Sam Carchidi).

Hayes carries a $7.1 million average annual value through 2025-26. Buying him out would cost the Flyers a total of $16.6 million over six years. A better option could be attempting to trade Hayes by retaining 50 percent of his cap hit, leaving them to carry just $3.6 million annually for the next three years.

The Dallas Stars could be a suitable trade partner. On Nov. 29, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported they’re in the market for a top-six forward to skate alongside Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment on their second line. Hayes’ scoring abilities could make him a good fit.

Stars winger Denis Gurianov, 25, is a former 20-goal scorer who might benefit from a fresh start with a new club once he returns from his current leave of absence. He has an affordable $2.9 million cap hit for this season and is slated to become a restricted free agent in July. The Stars could also include a draft pick or prospect in the deal.