Now That we’ve seen how Flyers General Manager Chuck Fletcher might handle business this off season, sacrificing some in order to retain others let’s take a look at how that 14.5 Million dollars in salary cap space after the season managed to vanish oh so quickly.
| RFA (D) Philippe Myers | 3 Yrs. | $3.25 Million |
| UFA (G) Anton Khudobin | 1 Yr. | $2.75 Million |
| RFA (D) Robert Hagg | 2 Yrs. | $2.25 Million |
| RFA (C) Nolan Patrick | 1 Yr. | $1.50 Million |
| RFA (W)Oskar Lindblom | 1Yr. | $1.25 Million |
| RFA (W) Nicolas Aube-Kubel | 2 Yrs. | $1.25 Million |
| RFA (D) Mark Friedman | 2 Yrs. | $1.15 Milion |
| UFA (W) Linus Sandin | 1Yr. | $925,000 |
These contracts (that were proposed in part 2 of this trilogy) totaled out to be $14,325,000 dollars, leaving just $125,000 in cap space after filling out the roster. When you see the math in black-and-white, there is no argument that there isn’t any room (currently) to bring back Unrestricted Free Agent defenseman Justin Braun! The Flyers would have even more cap available to sign players this off-season, but the team finds themselves still on the hook for defenseman Andrew MacDonald and forward David Schlemko for next season, since the team used their Buyout options on both players previously. The total cost for these players not being on the roster next season is $2.5 Million dollars against the cap.
With everyone now signed, look at the potential opening night roster for next season:
1st Line
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Claude Giroux | Sean Couturier | Travis Konecny |
Konecny on the 1st line brings speed, goal scoring ability, and grit. Giroux and Voracek are both “pass first” type players, so it’s best to break them up so they can set up guys on multiple lines.
2nd Line
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| James Van Riemsdyk | Kevin Hayes | Jakub Voracek |
JVR may be a stretch here but he is a former 36 goal scorer! He managed 27 goals last season for the Flyers and had 19 at the stoppage this season. Voracek would be there to set him up for goals and Hayes would be there to cover for JVR’s leisurely back checking abilities.
3rd Line
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Oskar Lindblom Joel Farabee | Nolan Patrick Morgan Frost | Linus Sandin |
Here’s where the roster will get interesting. Nolan Patrick would be ideal to center these two Swedish snipers. Adding Patrick into the lineup here would make a youthful line that has both speed and toughness and would benefit by Sandin being able to plant himself in front of the net and knock home anything that comes close. But, without the use of a crystal ball to be able to see into the future, it’s hard to predict if Patrick and Lindblom will be ready at the start of next season. Alternately, Joel Farabee could slot in at Left Wing if Lindblom cannot and Morgan Frost could find himself being offered the spot if Patrick is unable. The Flyers’ executives do not want either Farabee or Frost to be stuck playing 4th line minutes next year. The goal would be for them both to be able to continue to develop, and the only way you can do that is to see playing time.
4th Line
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Michael Raffl Scott Laughton | Scott Laughton Connor Bunnaman | Nicolas Aube-Kubel |
Swing man Scott Laughton might be the chess piece the Flyers need next season. With his ability to excel at both the Center and the Wing position, Head Coach Alain Vigneault will likely use him to plug in holes and move him up and down the lineup as needed when injuries occur.
Moving on now to the Defensive Pairings for next season: It should be pretty obvious who the first pairing will be.
1st Pairing
| Ivan Provorov | Matt Niskanen |
Enough said right? These two seemed to click right away and should be a lock to be together on the Flyers’ blue line next season.
2nd Pairing
| Travis Sanheim | Phillipe Myers |
With the team potentially having to move on from defenseman Justin Braun, it’s likely that Myers will produce more in the future than he did this season (with all the extra playing time) and will continue to grow in Braun’s absence. What the Flyers coaching staff will have to drill into these two young offensive defenseman’s heads is: if one of them go with the offensive rush the other must stay back!
3rd Pairing
| Mark Friedman | Robert Hagg |
Friedman finally gets a real chance at playing full time in the NHL next season due to salary cap restraints. He will make the most of it with his high hockey IQ and mistake-free way of playing the game. If the two previously mentioned offensive defensemen can’t seem to “gel” together then look for Robert Hagg to step up into the 2nd pairing and Myers to fall to the third, which will create a more even 3 defensive combinations. As we all know, AV is not going to stand for someone not back checking (Just ask defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere), so it’s important that each partner understand how to complement the other’s play.
Goaltenders
| Carter Hart |
| 1A. Anton Khudobin |
Hart will hopefully be slotted in as the teams # 1 goalie until the time when he surpasses Martin Brodeur’s all time win record (fingers crossed), but with the expiring contract of the often injured 35-year-old veteran netminder Brain “Moose” Elliott it might be time to look elsewhere to secure help, like the previously mentioned Dallas Star’s Unrestricted Free Agent goaltender Anton Khudobin. Khudobin would not only bring Stanley Cup winning experience but numbers that far surpass any other backup in the league (or most other starting goalies, for that matter). With an upgrade in between the pipes it just might be enough to push the team to 1st place in the Metropolitan Division next year over the Washington Capitals.
Now, you might be disappointed that there’s no flashy BIG name signing in this proposal, but you have to remember: The Flyers will have to resign Travis Sanheim, Matt Niskanen, and Carter Hart after NEXT season! Hopefully the team will then have guys like Yegor Zamula, Wyatte Wylie, or Cameron York ready to take Niskanen’s place (if he is too expensive to bring back). Replacing Niskanen would possibly allow the Flyers to back the Brinks truck up to Carter Hart’s apartment after next season. Hart has already been getting ready for this event, recently switching sports agents during the break in play. After next season, he will surely command a lengthy contract in the $5 to $6 Million dollar range (at least) annually. With Carter still in his very early 20’s and not even in his prime yet, that will still be a steal. Although that’s quite the difference to make up seeing that the Flyers are currently getting an elite NHL goaltender for just $730K right now. (That kind of raise would allow Hart to buy all the groceries he wants at his beloved Whole Foods market). In order to make sure there’s cap room, Chuck might look to get an early start this off season if Patrick and Lindblom look to be able to return to the lineup next season. The departure of players like Shayne Gostisbehere and his $4.5 Million-dollar annual salary would be a no-brainer to want to try and remove from the books. But others that Fletcher could look to be traded in order to make cap room would be JVR’s $7 Million dollar salary, or Voracek’s $8.25 Million dollar salary- both salaries are slotted to be on the Flyers books for some time to come and both players have been in AV’s dog house at times this season.
These three articles are just a glimpse at what challenging decisions the Flyers’ General Manager will be faced with making this coming off season and beyond. Out of all the proposals, who knows how Chuck will steer his team, but what is for certain is that Fletcher will surely find a way to better the team from previous years and somehow manage to keep it all under the cap!
We are close to seeing why Chuck Fletcher made a mistake by overpaying Kevin Hayes last year. The Cap. Fletcher was not looking ahead to the cap crunch he would face with so many great young players when they came off of their ELC’s in the coming years. By the way, Fletcher made a HUGE mistake when he gave Kevin Hayes a No Movement Clause, which means the Flyers will not be able to protect one of their key defensemen in the Seattle expansion draft next year. (The Flyers will probably go the 7/3/1 route, rather than the 4/4/1) Also, because Shayne Gostisbehere will probably be traded before the expansion draft, losing Robert Hagg to Seattle appears to be a no brainer to bolster Seattle’s defensive needs. The Flyers also could have used Wyatt Kalynuk, probably the best defensive prospect they had, until he went FA. Fletcher’s lack of organizational skills are becoming apparent.
Also, why not bring Brian Elliott back in goal. The chemistry he brought to the Flyers last year was a big part of the team’s success. His relationship with Carter Hart was just what Hart needed to grow and these two were perfect in how they played in tandem. Elliott seems like a great tutor for Hart too. Elliott took on many of the more difficult road games so Hart could mature under less pressure. Fletcher should bring Elliott back, but I doubt if he will. -Gregg Lorenz, Bucks County Pa