There is always a danger in looking too far ahead in hockey. For instance, how many years have we heard around Draft time that the current year's crop lacks top-end prospects but the group next year is going to be a lot better in both quality and quantity?
Maybe it will be and maybe it won't. But one thing is almost a lock: By the time the next Draft rolls around, half of the previous year's highly touted prospects will have dropped significantly in the scouts' rankings. Call it the Angelo Esposito Postulate.
Likewise, it doesn't make sense to look too far ahead when it comes to potential free agents; either your own or ones from other teams. Trying to "save up" for a certain player one -- or especially two -- off-seasons away is rather pointless.
I'm not saying that contending teams should not have long-term planning in mind when it comes to shaping the roster. For example, the Flyers are keenly aware that Chris Pronger is unlikely to play hockey again and Kimmo Timonen is 37 years old and entering the final year of his contract.
The Flyers had both the immediate and long-range future in mind when they signed Shea Weber to a 14-year, $110 million offer sheet. They didn't want to wait for him to hit the unrestricted free agent market a year from now or risk a rival team making a blockbuster trade and then signing Weber long-term. The uncertainty of the next CBA, which may eliminate or reduce front-loaded, ultra long-term contracts, also factored into the decision.
Unfortunately, as we all know, the offer sheet did not turn out as the Flyers had hoped. Even so, the rationale behind making an immediate move for Weber was borne out again yesterday when Tobias Enström -- the potential second-best option on the 2013 UFA defenseman market -- signed a multi-year extension with Winnipeg.
At this point, Vancouver's All-Star defenseman, Alexander Edler, is the clear-cut best remaining
potential 2013 unrestricted free agent at his position. However, it would not be in the least bit surprising if Edler's agent advises him to seek an extension with the Canucks now rather than for next summer (with potentially more constraints on his contract).
Beyond Edler, there is a severe drop-off in the list of potential 2013 UFA defensemen. There are a few former All-Stars stars now in their mid-to-late 30s, a handful of serviceable second-pairing or third-pairing types and a slew of marginal roster players. Let's put it this way, if Edler comes off the market prior to next summer, convincing Timonen to play a few years longer may be Philly's best bet in the UFA defense market.
As for forwards, well, it is possible that Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Jarome Iginla and some other prominent names will hit the UFA market next summer. But in late July 2012 the Flyers can hardly bank on one of them becoming available and also choosing to sign here.
The Flyers are going to seek a contract extension with Scott Hartnell ahead of his potential UFA status next summer. I have a high degree of confidence that the deal gets done and I also suspect he's going to get a significant raise on his current $4.2 million cap hit (which suddenly seems like a cap-friendly number because the deal he signed when he came over from Nashville was well ahead of the marketplace of the time).
I know that some people are already fretting about Claude Giroux's contract coming up for re-negotiation next summer -- one year ahead of becoming a final-year restricted free agent in 2014. I'm not among those who are worried. Four reasons:
1) When the Flyers truly want to extend a player, and the player is also happy in Philly, the deal almost always gets done.
2) When it comes to a franchise player like Giroux, the Flyers will do what they have to do cap-hit wise and then plan downwardly from there. Yes, he's going to shoot near the top of the NHL in salary from his current $3.75 million cap hit. Yes, Giroux will expect the Flyers to pay him market value next time after signing the present deal that seemed below market-value even on the day it was signed. But all of those things will be sorted out according to whatever the next CBA allows the Flyers to do.
3) Giroux will be a potential RFA in 2014, not a UFA. Even if he were to go into the summer of 2014 unsigned, it would be pointless for another team to offer-sheet him (especially if the CBA limits front-loading and contract lengths). The Flyers would match it right up to whatever the maximum cap hit will be.
4) Whether Giroux gets an extension in 2013 or the following summer, the new contract would not kick in until the 2014-15 season. He's locked in at that $3.75 million cap hit for the next two seasons, and that gives Philly plenty of time to plan to absorb his eventual next cap hit and stay within the cap ceiling.
Between now and then, there are two hockey seasons to play. A lot can and will change -- both for the Flyers and around the National Hockey League -- before Giroux is eligible for his next contract to start. While the Flyers most certainly need to have some long-term planning in mind, they can't and won't hyperfocus on one particular player's contract when he is a year away from being eligible for an extension and two years away from the extension kicking in on the salary cap.
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Speaking of Giroux, much ado is being made of his comments that his wrist fractures in the playoffs are the direct result of Sidney Crosby repeatedly slashing him on faceoffs rather than going for the puck.
First of all, is anyone surprised? The Flyers-Penguins series got pretty dirty at times, and Crosby and Giroux gave it to each other pretty good throughout the series. Playoff hockey in general sees players doing all sorts of ruthless things -- both subtle and unsubtle -- to try to gain an edge. Crosby is far from an angel out there, but neither is Giroux.
Secondly, on-ice rivalry and heated animosity is a good thing in hockey. It's all part of the game. If Giroux's "controversial claim" throws a little more fuel on the fire, so be it.
I can also guarantee that if the NHL participates in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Giroux and Crosby will co-exist just fine as teammates of Team Canada. They may even form a friendship when they are on the same side-- which, of course, will promptly be put aside as they whale on each other the next time the Flyers play the Penguins.
Such is hockey, folks. Some things about the game will never change.
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Riley Cote, the former Flyers' enforcer and current assistant coach with the Phantoms, has always been deeply involved in charitable endeavors, especially those devoted to awareness and fundraising for Multiple Sclerosis research.
From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. today at Dynasty Sports in the Willow Grove Mall, Cote will be doing an autograph signing event that also includes a raffle for a variety of autographed Flyers' memorabilia (including an autographed Claude Giroux jersey). One hundred percent of the proceeds from today's event go to Cote's MS-related foundation. Dynasty Sports will also donate 10 percent of non-event related sales today to the MS fund.
Click
here for more information.
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