John Tortorella and his Philadelphia Flyers have exceeded all expectations in 2023-24, sitting in third place in the Metropolitan Division coming out of the All-Star break. This team was widely expected to miss the postseason again, but Philly remains in the thick of things with three months left.

Despite the club's success, defenseman Sean Walker has seen his name swirling in trade rumors basically all season, which makes sense considering he's set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The Flyers bench boss made some interesting comments regarding the 29-year-old's future earlier this week.

“When it comes to the deadline, we're going to listen,” Tortorella explained, per NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jordan Hall. “If we feel it's the right thing to do for the future of the organization, we'll do it. Those guys on expiring contracts, everybody's always kind of checking around, so we'll see where it goes. We're not out there shopping Sean Walker, but we'd be dopes if we didn't listen.”

Walker has been a big part of the Flyers remaining a fixture in the Eastern Conference postseason picture; the right-hander can play either side of the defense. The Ontario, Canada native is second on Philadelphia's blueline with five goals and 19 points over 52 games, averaging just over 19 minutes of ice time per night.

Add that to the fact that Walker is making just $2.65 million in 2023-24, and this is clearly a player that a lot of teams would covet ahead of the Mar. 8 NHL Trade Deadline.

Sean Walker addresses rumors

Walker spoke in depth about the trade rumors earlier this week.

“It's probably one of the best problems to have, right?” the Flyers D-man told Hall. “At the end of the day, you're playing really well and teams want you. That is the situation when you come to a place on an expiring contract, the situation I'm in. I'll let my agent deal with all those kind of issues and I'll just take it day by day for now. I take everything with a grain of salt.

“Obviously it's there, there are lot of trade rumors and stuff. You think about it, but at the end of the day, you just kind of put it in the back of your mind and take it day by day. Just try to play my best and help the team win.”

That's probably the perfect attitude for Sean Walker to have as he continues to help his team make a playoff push. As of Saturday, the Flyers are just nine points back of the New York Rangers for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division.

The work continues when the Seattle Kraken come to town on Saturday night.