Flyers trade Jordan Weal to Arizona, acquire draft pick and minor-league defenseman

Jordan Weal looked like he had a promising future when he scored eight goals in the last 19 games of the Flyers' 2016-17 season.

But that turned out to be the high point of his career with the Flyers.

In the first deal of general manager Chuck Fletcher’s tenure, the Flyers traded the center/winger to Arizona on Friday for minor-league defenseman Jacob Graves and a sixth-round pick in the June draft.

Graves, 23, who has never played in the NHL, had two goals, seven points and 66 penalty minutes in 32 games with Norfolk in the ECHL this season. He had three goals and six points last season for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.

The 6-foot-2, 194-pound Graves will report to the Flyers' ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals.

Weal, 26, had three goals and nine points in 28 games with the Flyers this season, his fourth with the Flyers.

In a deal made to clear cap space, Weal was acquired as part of a 2016 trade with Los Angeles, along with a third-round draft pick that turned out to be Carsen Twarynski, in exchange for Vinny Lacavalier and Luke Schenn.

Originally drafted by the Kings in the third round of the 2010 draft, Weal excelled for the AHL’s Phantoms, then coached by Scott Gordon, in 2016-17 as he collected 47 points in 43 games. He later had a promising stint with the Flyers that season.

Gordon is now the Flyers' interim coach.