The Florida Panthers made Aaron Ekblad the No. 1 overall pick in Friday's NHL Draft, but the Panthers came very close to not making the selection. According to reports, the Philadelphia Flyers almost made the move that would have given them the draft's top defenseman.

According to Randy Miller of NJ.com, Panthers general manager Dale Tallon had several conversations with Flyers general manger Ron Hextall and almost pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade.

“We were close,” Tallon said. “(The Flyers) made a legitimate attempt. We had a number of conversations with Ron. They teased me. It was not an easy decision. They were willing. It was enticing.”

The Flyers offered the Panthers their No. 17 pick along with Brayden Schenn, Luke Schenn and Vincent Lecavalier. The Panthers wanted the Flyers to include Wayne Simmonds and that is when the deal went south. Even though the huge deal between the two teams didn't come to fruition, the Panthers are still expected to trade left wing Scottie Upshall to the Flyers for Lecavalier.

The aggressiveness that Hextall has brought to the Flyers’ offseason has to be encouraging as the team looks to return to contention after years of disappointing playoff runs.

The Flyers ended up keeping the No. 17 pick and selected fellow defenseman Travis Sanheim.

[NJ.com]

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