Shjon is walking into the Flyer’s at an interesting time in the franchise. Even with Chris Pronger on the Active Roster there is $14.8M in cap space (once he goes to LTIR there will be about $19.7M free) and with the Flyers being financed by Ed Snider they are sitting pretty with more than enough capitals for Free Agents ($10.5M) and Extensions ($34.97M).
Short term the Flyers are set with money, but there are some concerns to address now before they bite us long term. To get a clear picture lets break this up by position:
FORWARDS- One year from now the Flyer’s will go from spending under $30 million on 14 NHL quality forwards to $31.875 on just 8. This increase comes from 3 big extensions to Giroux, Couturier, and Read. While the Giroux and Couturier extensions keep in place two franchise centers Read is going to have to play for his two and a half million bonus or will likely find himself expendable. If Downie finds chemistry and consistency he could be back in the future, but he has a lot of competition in the deep forward pool. Schenn is due for a big time cash influx, and will be on Shjon’s shortlist for preseason extensions. Raffl, McGinn, Hall, and Vande Velde are all playing for extensions in their roles with the team.
Three years down the road will be the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The good is that the Flyers will still have Giroux and Simmonds in their primes. The bad is that they will have to look at resigning Couturier and Vorachek, as well as thinking about the futures in the likes of Brayden Schenn and Scott Laughton. The Ugly is that Read, Hartnell, and Lecavalier will be 30, 34, and 36 and have an average cap hit of $4.3M. At least one of those contracts has to go, if there is a bite on Lecavalier before the season starts expect Podein to reel it in.
DEFENSE- Despite what some say Podes does not believe the Flyer’s defense is in total disarray. Next year Timonen’s Six Million Dollar contract is coming off the books and the 16 year veteran will be worth about half as much financially. Ownership is confident a deal can be worked out with Erik Gustafsson to keep him 4-6 more years at only a small increase to his current hit. Most excitingly is that, if our scouts are to be believed, steady blueliner, MacDonald isn’t in it for the money.
The only bad contract is Grossmann, our #7 D-Man bringing in $3.5, if it can be unloaded a more affordable option can be found in free agency or through our own system. Also, Streit’s contract due to his age could be troublesome. As it stands now he is one of our best players and his hit is acceptable, but if he takes any dips in his abilities he could find himself bound to a team in need of a PP QB.
GOALIES- Can Stone Cold Steve Mason bring the Flyers the Cup? At $12.3M over three years starting next year it certainly seems management believes so. Emery will serve as a good backup, but his price tag is too hefty to resign, more affordable options exist.
TOTAL- As it stands now the Flyers cap hit is at $57,477,500 with $20,499,573 available. Next year the Flyers are slated to drop that down to $52,825,000 meaning there should be approx. $25M in cap space next year. The Flyers have to resign B. Schenn, Gustafsson, and MacDonald. Grossmann and Lecavalier are starting off on the Trade List, while Hartnell, Read, and Streit will be carefully monitored. Downie needs to prove his offensive worth or will be testing the market. There is room now for a new high profile skater, but any stay would be short term as the Flyers look to their youth.