The news that the Flyers will carry a $1,402,500 cap penalty this season due to bonus-related overages from last season throws a wrench into any semblance of salary cap breathing room that the team will bring into the 2011-12 season. The club now has a mere $175,258 in cap space (which includes the salary of LTIR candidate Ian Laperriere).
When Laperriere goes on LTIR, the team will have a practical $1.34 million of cap space. However, with the signings of Jon Kalinski and Jason Bacashihua, the team is already maxed out on contracts and cannot sign any more players without opening up a roster spot. Marcel Noebels contract does not currently "count" against the 50-contract limit because the 19-year-old is eligible to be returned to his junior team.
It is galling that the team will carry $1.4 million in dead cap space the entire season, but the team has constantly bumped up against the cap ceiling and has lacked the ability to make in-season moves as a result.
Now more than ever, I think that Jody Shelley's $1.1 million contract is something that the team cannot afford to carry. He simply doesn't play enough minutes for a cap-strapped team to justify his spot on the NHL roster. For the same money, the Flyers could carry a less expensive young player (such as Tom Sestito) and have room to call up others as needed during the season.
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If you are a Flyers fan, hopefully the only way that the name Nail Yakupov will come up in conversation next season is if the Flyers make a trade for another team's first-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. If he'd be a consideration with the Flyers' own pick, it would likely mean that the club found itself in the NHL Draft Lottery.
This week's
Across the Pond at NHL.com looks at Yakupov's quest to become the first ethnic Tatar to star in the NHL.
The Sarnia Sting winger is off to a great start, shattering Steven Stamkos' team scoring record for a rookie and easily capturing OHL Rookie of the Year honors. He was also dominant in the 2011 Under-18 World Junior Championships, racking up 13 points in 7 games (including a hat trick against Team Canada in the bronze medal game).
For those who have never seen Yakupov in action, the youngster has game-breaking speed and a tremendous finishing touch. He's small but as long as he adds some strength and learns to play at least adequate NHL-caliber two-way hockey, he's got a real good shot at becoming a frontline NHL talent.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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