Salary Cap Deep Dive: Philadelphia Flyers

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  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 2020-21 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on 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: $79,238,852 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Joel Farabee (two years, $925K)
F German Rubtsov (one year, $894K)
F Morgan Frost (two years, $863K)
G Carter Hart (one year, $731K)

Potential Bonuses
Farabee: $500K
Rubtsov: $425K
Hart: 83K
Total: $1.1MM

One thing the Philadelphia Flyers have a lot of is balance, which includes quite a few impressive young players on entry-level deals. While he may not be paid the most of the entry-level players, the guy that is likely next to cash in is goaltender Carter Hart. Just 22, the young netminder has been impressive in two seasons. Perhaps the statistic that stands out the most is his numbers when at home. Hart posted a dominant 20-3-2 record at home with a 1.63 GAA and a .943 GAA. Unfortunately his road record wasn’t as good with a 3.04 GAA and a .896 save percentage — something he must work on. Regardless, he will likely command quite a bit when the Flyers try to lock him up to an extension.

Farabee and Frost are two young prospects who could make their impact known as soon as next season. Farabee played in 52 games last year for Philadelphia, scoring eight goals and 21 points, but he could be primed for a breakout season. Frost is the next prospect up. He appeared in 20 games last year, scoring two goals and seven points, but should see more regular time in Philadelphia’s lineup this season and could be a significant contributor down the road.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Travis Sanheim ($3.25MM, RFA)
D Erik Gustafsson ($3MM, UFA)
F Scott Laughton ($2.3MM, UFA)
F Michael Raffl ($1.6MM, UFA)
G Brian Elliott ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Nolan Patrick ($874K, RFA)
D Samuel Morin ($700K, RFA)

Sanheim has established himself as a top-four defender on a very young defense and should continue to get better. With the loss of defenseman Matt Niskanen to retirement, Sanheim will be expected to take that next step and become a dominant defeneman for the Flyers. He scored eight goals and 25 points last season, but could be primed for a bigger year. Gustafsson was brought in to fill in the holes on the team’s defense. The 28-year-old was coming off a 60-point season in 2018-19, but failed to duplicate that with either with the Blackhawks or the Flames after he was traded at the deadline.

Laughton has been a useful bottom-six player over the last few years. The 26-year-old provides the team a combination of some offense and some physicality, something the team needs. Laughton finished last season with 13 goals and 27 points in 49 games last season as well as 109 hits, but more importantly stepped up in the playoffs, putting up five goals and nine points in 15 games. The 32-year-old Raffl is much the same, putting up eight goals and 20 points in 58 games with 96 hits.

The most interesting name might be Patrick, who missed the entire 2019-20 season with a migraine disorder. The Flyers hope that the No. 2 overall pick in 2017 can pick up where he left off and eventually become the dominant player he once was despite struggling through a myriad of injuries in the past. When healthy, Patrick can be a dominating, playmaking center. The team hopes to insert him into the lineup as the team’s third-line center to start and see where he goes from there.

Elliott, who has been mentoring Hart ever since Hart arrived, struggled last year and the team hopes the 35-year-old can find his game this season. If not, the team will likely move on from him in a year.

Two Years Remaining

F Claude Giroux ($8.25MM, UFA)
F Sean Couturier ($4.33MM, UFA)
D Justin Braun ($1.8MM, UFA)
D Robert Hagg ($1.6MM, UFA)
F Nicolas Aube-Kubel ($1.08MM, RFA)

Giroux has been one of the most dominant Flyers players in their history with 257 goals and 810 points over his career. He put up 21 goals last year in just 69 games, but did see a decline in his overall points as his point totals went from 85 to 53. At 32 years of age, it’s likely that we’ll see the start of a decline in the next few years, but with two years remaining on his contract, the team does have some relief coming down the road. If Giroux can bounce back this year, he’ll remain a viable player for a few more years and can eventually be signed to a cheaper deal as he reaches his mid-30’s.

Couturier, on the other hand, is also coming off a disappointing season. After two straight 30-goal seasons, he struggled with just 22 goals in 69 games. Of course, had he played the entire 82 games, he may have come close to those goal-scoring numbers, but the 28-year-old should continue to post good numbers for the next few years and his contract looks like a value deal if he can get back to 30 goals once again.

Braun provides some much-needed veteran depth on the blueline after the Flyers traded a second and third-round pick to acquire him last offseason. They still get two more years out of him. Hagg also provides key depth despite an injury plagued 2019-20.

Three Years Remaining

F James van Riemsdyk ($7MM, UFA)
D Shayne Gostisbehere ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Oskar Lindblom ($3MM, RFA)
D Philippe Myers ($2.55MM, RFA)

The Flyers had high hopes for their free-agent signing two years ago when they signed him to a five-year, $35MM contract. He had just completed a 36-goal season with the Maple Leafs in 2017-18. He did post 26 goals in his first year, but saw those numbers drop to just 19 in the same number of games (66). The team needs the 31-year-old to bounce back and hold off some of the talented young forwards who are fighting for top-six minutes.

Gostisbehere is another player who has struggled, as he has seen his minutes decline the last two years. The offensive-minded defenseman was expected to be a star on their defense just two years ago, but the blueliner has been shopped around and injuries have also slowed any chance of improvement. With three years left on his deal, the team has to hope that Gostisbehere can find his game. Myers, on the other hand, is another one of the Flyers’ young prospects who the team hopes is ready to take that next step in his development and become a full-time player who could force his way into their top-four.

Lindblom is another interesting story. On top of having Patrick miss the entire 2019-20 season, Lindblom lost most of his season after being diagnosed with cancer. That was also just as he was starting to establish himself as a potential breakout player. The 24-year-old scored 17 goals in 2019-20, but already had 11 goals through 30 games and looked to be heading towards a potential 25-goal season. Now in remission, Lindblom will be given every chance to take that next step this season.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Jakub Voracek ($8.25MM through 2024-25)
F Kevin Hayes ($7.14MM through 2026-27)
D Ivan Provorov ($6.75MM through 2025-26)
F Travis Konecny ($5.5MM through 2025-26)

Voracek has been a key contributor for years and while his defensive play and work on the ice garnered him the Selke award last year, he did see a decline in his overall numbers. He put up just 12 goals and 56 points. With four more years on the books, the Flyers have to hope that he could put up his old numbers on offense to go with his outstanding defensive play. However, after an 85-point campaign in 2017-18, those numbers have steadily dropped.

Hayes, coming off signing a seven-year, $50MM contact, showed solid skills as the Flyers’ No. 2 center and put up 23 goals and 41 points in 69 games. Philadelphia has to hope that he can continue to put up solid numbers like that for the next couple of years until Patrick might be ready to supplant him as the team’s second-line center. Konecny also looks like a steal after the team locked him up to a 6-year, $33MM deal. He posted career highs in points last year and the Flyers should be able to cash in on that deal for another five years.

Provorov also has emerged as their top defenseman after a soft year. That didn’t stop them from signing him to a six-year, $40.5MM deal last offseason. Playing alongside Matt Niskanen was the stability he needed to step up and put up a solid year and a bright future.

Buyouts

D Andrew MacDonald ($1.92MM in 2020-21)
D David Schlemko ($600K in 2020-21)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Konecny
Worst Value: Gostisbehere

Looking Ahead

The Flyers look to have done a impressive job of spreading out their veteran contracts, while constantly developing their young players and slowly incorporating them into their lineup. The team looks like a team that will dominate in the East for many years to come and if some of their young players take that next step, the Flyers even have a chance to vie for a Stanley Cup run sooner than many think.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.