The NHL salary cap will increase by $4.5 million to $88 million this past weekend. With the NHL salary cap jump to $88 million, the Flyers currently have approximately $803,000 of cap space, with approximately $7.3 million for LTIR candidates.
Ryan Ellis is an LTIR candidate, and Ryan Johansen could follow suit if he is properly diagnosed by the time the season begins. Danny Briere is skeptical of Johansen’s future, as he stated this past weekend to reporters at the scouting combine in Buffalo. In the same token, he hasn’t been properly diagnosed.
What can the Flyers do to get more cap space to add some players? Well, they have a few options: The orange and black can do nothing and use LTIR to their advantage (Shuffle players to Lehigh temporarily at the start of season), make some trades, or buy a player out. Keith Jones and Danny Briere have said repeatedly that they are not in a position to use cap space yet to spend in free agency, and ridding the dead cap space is critical for the speed of the rebuild.
Speaking of buyouts, there are two players on the Flyers roster that are possibilities for such with the likes of Cam Atkinson and Cal Petersen. Now if the Flyers are serious with not adding players via free agency, then I see no reason to buy a player out. However, if they plan on adding a few players, then this is a good route to go. Here’s what the buyouts will look like for the next few seasons for each player:
Cam Atkinson- $5.87 million salary, With buyout: 2024-25 $2.35 million cap hit (Savings $3.52 million), 2025-26 $1.75 million cap hit (Savings $4.12 million)
Cal Petersen- $5 million salary, With buyout: 2024-25 $1 million cap hit (Savings $4 million), 2025-26 $2 million cap hit (Savings $3 million)
It appears on the surface that Petersen would be the better buyout candidate, but one has to remember that the Lehigh Valley Phantoms also have a promising rookie netminder in Alexei Kolosov at the helm. With Kolosov still learning the culture, the language, land earning how to become a pro. It is good to have a veteran netminder to help groom him.
With the President of Hockey Ops Keith Jones stating last week that the Flyers are looking to rid themselves of the dead cap, maybe the team doesn’t buy anybody out, especially with the salary cap rising by $4.5 million for the 2024-25 season. The buyout process Will begin on June 15th, and end on June 30th.
