Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Philadelphia Flyers
Current Cap Hit: $69,859,167 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Travis Konecny (Two years remaining, $894K)
F Nolan Patrick (Three years remaining, $925K)
D Samuel Morin (One year remaining, $863K)
D Ivan Provorov (Two years remaining, $894K)
Potential Bonuses
Konecny: $213K
Morin: $500K
Patrick: $2.65MM
Provorov: $850K
Total: $4.213MM
Konecny got off to a hot start last season but tailed off down the stretch. However, with a full NHL season under his belt, he should be in line for a solid sophomore year and will likely play in their top six. As for Patrick, the second overall selection is expected to lock down a regular roster spot although GM Ron Hextall has said they won’t force him into NHL action if he’s not ready. With their depth down the middle, the Flyers will be able to ease Patrick into the lineup which is something that isn’t typically afforded to top picks just coming out of the draft.
Provorov was put into a key role right away and he passed the test with flying colors. It’s quite rare that a rookie defender leads the team in average ice time but that happened last season with the 20-year-old, who also finished second on the team in points from the back end. Philadelphia will need to enjoy his cheap deal while they can as he already is on track for a massive raise on his second contract.
It’s expected that quite a few youngsters will get a chance on the back end. Morin is among those after getting a pair of full AHL seasons under his belt. Others like Robert Hagg (one year remaining) and Travis Sanheim (two years remaining) are also expected to get a long look at training camp.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Valtteri Filppula ($5MM, UFA)
D Brandon Manning ($975K, UFA)
F Matt Read ($3.625MM, UFA)
Filppula was acquired from the Lightning back at the trade deadline with Tampa looking to unload some salary for this season. While he’s not likely to push for more than 50 points like he did earlier in his career, he still slots in as a capable second liner. If he makes it to the open market, his next deal should come in relatively close to this one. Read’s contract looked reasonable when it was signed as a winger on the rise but he has tailed off in recent years. He’s not likely to be back after this season and his next contract will be for considerably less.
Manning has taken on more of a regular role over the last couple of seasons. He’ll likely reprise a depth role but if the youngsters struggle early on, he could be asked to take on more of the load at times.
Two Years Remaining
G Brian Elliott ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Jori Lehtera ($4.7MM, UFA)
G Michal Neuvirth ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Michael Raffl ($2.35MM, UFA)
F Wayne Simmonds ($3.975MM, UFA)
F Mike Vecchione ($900K, RFA)
F Jordan Weal ($1.75MM, UFA)
Simmonds is currently on one of the top team-friendly deals in the league. He signed it after his first year in Philly in 2012 and has been a top-six winger (often a front liner) since then. He’ll undoubtedly be looking for a big raise when this one is up but with his physical style of play, it will be interesting to see if that makes the team hesitant to hand out a long-term pact. Lehtera disappointed with St. Louis last season and will be looking to rebound in their top-six. Given their depth down the middle, there’s a chance that he could be moved out to the wing with the Flyers. Raffl had a year to forget in 2016-17 and didn’t live up to the contract. He’s more of a depth player at this point and if he struggles again early on, he’s someone that they could look to move. Weal didn’t play much in the NHL last year (and has only 37 career games under his belt) but impressed Hextall enough to land a big raise and a one-way deal so he’s likely to get a longer look. As for Vecchione, even though he has a one-way pact of his own, he’s still waiver exempt and is a candidate to go back-and-forth between the NHL and AHL.
Although goaltending remains a big question mark for Philadelphia (seemingly an annual tradition), the team has done well to not lock into long-term deals while they wait for some of their prospects to develop. Elliott comes over from Calgary where he didn’t fare well but he’s only a year removed from a much better season with St. Louis. Even if he just comes close to those numbers, this would be a big upgrade and a nice steal for the Flyers. Neuvirth is also coming off of a down year but at the very least, he provides insurance as someone that can assume the starting role if need be.
Three Years Remaining
D Radko Gudas ($3.35MM, UFA)
D Andrew MacDonald ($5MM, UFA)
F Dale Weise ($2.35MM, UFA)
Weise did not have a good first season with the Flyers and wound up as a healthy scratch at times. If that happens again in 2017-18, it wouldn’t be surprising if they consider buying him out next summer.
Gudas has a well-deserved reputation for being a predatory player but he’s also a capable second pairing player that took a step forward offensively last season. While some criticized his contract that was signed last summer as being too pricey, if he can maintain a comparable level of play this year, it’s not a bad contract at all. MacDonald hasn’t come close to living up to his money. He’s a third pairing player that has cleared waivers in the past. Hextall would love to unload his deal but unless he’s willing to take a comparably bad contract in return, that’s not going to happen.
Four Or More Years Remaining
F Sean Couturier ($4.33MM through 2021-22)
F Claude Giroux ($8.275MM through 2021-22)
D Shayne Gostisbehere ($4.5MM through 2022-23)
F Jakub Voracek ($8.25MM through 2023-24)
It’s not entirely fair to suggest that Giroux is at a crossroads but his production has dropped for four straight years despite still seeing top line ice time; his 58 points last year was his lowest in a full season since 2009-10. He’s certainly capable of rebounding into form and if he does, this won’t be too onerous of a contract down the road. If the recent trend continues and his scoring output drops again though, there’s bound to be an increase in trade speculation as they’ll be paying top end money for no better than second line production.
Voracek signed his contract coming off of a career year but has put up 55 and 61 points since then. That’s not bad by any stretch but it isn’t what they’re paying him to produce. Because of the term left on the deal, he’d be tough to trade even if they wanted to so he’ll get plenty of chances to rebound. Couturier hasn’t become the offensive force he was back in junior but he is still a very strong two-way center on a good contract.
On the back end, Gostisbehere bypassed the bridge deal back in June with his new deal. His production dipped from his rookie season but was still above average overall. His offensive game alone should cover the cost of the contract but if he can improve in his own end, this could be a real bargain before too long.
Buyouts
G Ilya Bryzgalov (Compliance buyout so no cap hit; payments $1.643MM to be made through 2026-27)
F R.J. Umberger ($1.5MM in 2017-18)
Retained Salary Transactions
None
Still To Sign
None
Best Value: Simmonds
Worst Value: MacDonald
Looking Ahead
For years, the Flyers found themselves in cap trouble to the point where there some bonus overages that carried over along the way. That’s not the case now. They’re comfortably under heading into 2017-18 and with the influx of young talent coming through the pipeline, they’ll be in good shape with quality players on cheap entry-level deals for the foreseeable future.
If Giroux (and to a lesser extent, Voracek) don’t rebound from the last couple of seasons, their contracts will hurt a bit. But again, a good chunk of those concerns can be offset by some cheaper talent on the horizon. Philadelphia is in very good shape cap-wise moving forward in a very tough Metropolitan Division.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.