24 HOURS UNTIL FREE AGENCY SEASON
1) With the NHL free agent period starting on Wednesday, the Philadelphia Flyers currently have in the neighborhood of $7 million of cap space under the $71.4 million ceiling for 2015-16. Flyers general manager
Ron Hextall said on Saturday that he does not yet consider the team's cap situation to be where he wants it to be.
Hextall must keep an eye not only on the team's cap situation for 2015-16 but also in long-term planning for the following season. The team hopes to negotiate a long-term contract extension with All-Star right winger
Jakub Voracek, who can be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016, and will command much more than his current $4.25 million cap hit. Additionally, both
Sean Couturier (current $1.75 million cap hit) and
Brayden Schenn ($2.5 million) become restricted free agents next summer.
The NHL buyout period comes to an end on Tuesday. The Flyers must make a decision on whether to buy out recently acquired forward
Sam Gagner. If the team elects not to buy out the player's contract, Gagner may still be traded again depending on what other moves the team makes. If he is retained, Gagner figures to slot somewhere on the second or third line for new coach
Dave Hakstol.
The Flyers have said they would like to add a second-line offensive catalyst to the lineup in free agency. They also would also ideally like to have another top-nine winger who offers both speed and size to the lineup.
Although the Flyers lack a bonafide top line left winger, the club was satisfied with the performance they got out of
Michael Raffl when he was on a line with Voracek and
Claude Giroux last season. However, the versatile Raffl can move around the lineup as needed if the Flyers sign a free agent left winger.
The Flyers also hope that a post-surgery
R.J. Umberger is now a healthy player and can return to his past two-way form after a litany of nagging injuries severely curtailed his effectiveness with Columbus in 2013-14 and the Flyers in 2014-15. Umberger underwent both hip and abdominal surgeries in March.
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BACKUP GOALTENDER SOUGHT
Hextall does not sound interested in trading for a backup goaltender, and did not go that route over NHL Draft weekend because he did not want to expend draft pick assets to fill the spot. Come the start of free agency on Wednesday, the Flyers will likely sign at least one goaltender to replace
Ray Emery, who backed up
Steve Mason in each of the last two weekends.
There were a half-dozen goaltender trades league-wide over Draft weekend. One of the trades saw the San Jose Sharks trade impending unrestricted free agent (UFA)
Antti Niemi to the Dallas Stars. On Monday, the Stars announced that Niemi has been signed to a three-year contract.
The most notable remaining candidates set to hit the UFA market include
Karri Rämö,
Michal Neuvirth,
Jhonas Enroth,
Thomas Greiss,
Viktor Fasth,
Anders Lindbäck and
Jonas Gustavsson. Both Rämö and Neuvirth are reportedly looking for opportunities to be full-time or at least split-time starters next season -- with corresponding salaries -- but such opportunities are rather limited.
Emery had a so-so season for the Flyers in 2014-15, playing on a one-year, $1 million contract. The 32-year-old netminder posted a 3.06 goals against average and .894 save percentage in 31 appearances, compared to Mason's 2.25 GAA and .928 save percentage in 51 appearances. Emery also battled through some injury issues in the second half of the season.
The Flyers do not seem especially interested in another one-year deal with Emery. However, he was also not the primary choice heading into the summer of 2014 and wound up being re-signed. He works well with Mason and is well-respected in the dressing room as a good teammate.
Last year, the Flyers targeted
Justin Peters as their top backup goaltender option in free agency but ended up re-signing Emery after Peters opted to sign with the Washington Capitals. Peters saw very limited duty in Washington behind workhorse starter
Braden Holtby and did not play particularly well.
Philipp Grubauer wound up seeing more playing time than Peters.
The Flyers seem open to bringing back veteran
Rob Zepp, who played well as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms starter in 2014-15 and won five NHL games for the Flyers, as their third goaltender on the depth chart. Zepp becomes an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday.
Other swingman options on the unrestricted free agent market include former Dallas and Edmonton goaltender
Richard Bachman,
David Leggio,
Jason LaBarbera and
Dan Ellis.
It sounds like longtime NHL backup goaltender
Scott Clemmensen will officially retire as an active player. Reportedly, he will accept a job with the New Jersey Devils as the goaltender development coach; a position that an ever-growing number of NHL teams have adopted to assist the work of the NHL-level goaltender coach.
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RINALDO TRADED, VANDEVELDE RE-SIGNED
On Monday, the Flyers gained a little bit of extra cap when they traded winger
Zac Rinaldo ($850,000 cap hit for 2015-16 and 2016-17) to the Boston Bruins and re-signed forward
Chris VandeVelde to a two-year contract extension with a raise to a $712,500 cap hit.
VandeVelde, who played for Hakstol at the University of North Dakota and became a fourth-line regular last season in conjunction with
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare under former head coach
Craig Berube, will likely play the same role next season. He was a scoring line player in college but the player and coach alike recognize that his role is different at the NHL level.
It would also not be a surprise if the Flyers re-sign impending unrestricted free agent forward
Ryan White, who brought similar energy to Rinaldo but a better overall game (and even some unexpected offense). White said after the season that his top choice is to remain in Philadelphia.
In exchange for Rinaldo, the Flyers acquired a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Although the team liked Rinaldo's aggressive hitting game and above-average skating ability, he was too limited of a role player for today's NHL.
Attempts to expand his role to penalty killing duties did not fare particularly well, despite the player asking for the opportunity and putting in hard work for the last few years to add that specialty to his repertoire. Rinaldo offers virtually no offensive game. Thus, his entire role is to throw his body around and agitate.
In game situations, Rinaldo is a one-dimensional specialist. He goes out, throws his body around on the forecheck and tries to get the team's adrenaline pumping and emotion elevated. Sometimes he picks his spots well -- such as the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season when he actually drew more penalties on the opposition than the ones he received. Too often, though, he descends into recklessness and hurts his own team.
In order to be an effective hockey player, Rinaldo must skate a very fine line between being an aggressive player and being a reckless one. Unfortunately, he has repeatedly shown on his career that his judgment cannot be trusted to understand the boundaries.
Unfortunately, Rinaldo's penchant for taking penalties, too-frequent suspensions from the NHL for illegal hits and a seemingly set-in-stone reputation that often leads to marginal -- or even clean -- plays being whistled by referees makes it hard for him to consistently do his main job without hurting his team.
Rinaldo got his reputation for good reason: he can't help himself. What's more, he spent a lengthy stint in 2014-15 as a healthy scratch. Even with a change in coaching regime, his roster spot for next season was in jeopardy. As such, the trade is not surprising.
Rinaldo does not specifically goes out looking to injure opposing players. He's not a sociopath. What he is, however, is lacking in judgment and common sense. Rinaldo seems to view periodic suspensions as an unpleasant but unavoidable job hazard. He is rather matter-of-fact and detached about being subject to supplementary discipline. Always has been, always will be. If anything, the one thing that upsets Rinaldo is when he gets "reputation penalties" on clean hits.
Dealing with Rinaldo on a regular basis around the rink, one finds that he is someone who is easy to like as a person despite his seeming brashness. He's always approachable, always in a good mood, enthusiastic and talkative. He's always the first one to say hello or initiate small talk, and is both polite and laid back when he steps off the ice. He's particularly nice to children at the rink.
Watching Rinaldo practice on a regular basis, it becomes clear that he possesses a good work ethic. That is part of why his assistant coaches through the years -- especially
Ian Laperriere -- have been quick to advocate for him. He cares and is willing to work for his keep.
Sadly, the hard work has not resulted in substantial improvement of his game at the pro level. Rinaldo has long craved the chance to be a regular part of the penalty killing rotation. He has not particularly shined in periodic experiments, which would be necessary for him to get longer looks in that role. While some would say the problem is that he can't be trusted not to take an additional penalty, the bigger issue is that he is still a work in progress in learning the nuances of defensive play at the NHL level.
Believe it or not, the 25-year-old Rinaldo actually has nascent hockey skills that rarely surface in game situations. Instead, they present in casual environments, such as the end of practice or in the Flyers-Phantoms scrimmage in Allentown last September. In the scrimmage's no-hitting environment, Rinaldo kept himself and the crowd entertained by repeatedly dipsy-doodling with the puck and actively looking to score a goal.
On the ice or off the ice, Rinaldo has no filter. He speaks and acts on impulse. For better and for worse, there is rarely a dull moment with Rinaldo around.
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DEL ZOTTO RECEIVES QUALIFYING OFFER
As fully expected, the Flyers presented a one-year, $1.3 million qualifying offer to impending restricted free agent defenseman
Michael Del Zotto on Monday. Hextall has said that, while the two sides are not currently close to an agreement on a contract extension, the dialogue has not been contentious. The GM said he believes the two sides will come to an agreement.
If the two sides prove unable to come to an agreement, they may go the arbitration route. Del Zotto is unlikely to receive a offer sheets from another NHL teams despite a bounceback season in 2014-15.
Del Zotto is eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2016, should he sign only for next season. The benefit to the Flyers of a one-year deal is a lower cap hit than it would take to buy up one or more years of UFA status. The drawback is that Del Zotto could walk away with no compensation next summer unless he was traded for an asset by the NHL trade deadline. Having him contracted for two seasons could be a nice bridge will the Flyers are tracking the development of
Shayne Gostisbehere,
Travis Sanheim and
Ivan Provorov into NHL defensemen who can contribute offensively as well as defensively.
The Flyers, who are on paper a bubble team for a playoff spot in 2015-16, would be less inclined to trade Del Zotto if they are in the thick of the playoff chase come next March. Even if they are out of playoff contention again, "rental" trades involving impending UFAs often tend to bring back lower returns than ones involving desired players who have at least one additional season of term remaining.
As such, a multi-year deal will seem to benefit both sides a little more than one-year deal. Del Zotto would make more money and the Flyers would have more asset management options open as the next season or two progress.
First, however, the two sides must agree on a cap figure that works for both parties. That could take some time -- and result in arbitration -- if they are not already in the same ballpark.
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PRONGER ELECTED TO HHOF
Former Flyers defenseman
Chris Pronger was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday. He will join defenseman
Nicklas Lidström, center
Sergei Fedorov, defenseman
Phil Housley, women's hockey star
Angela Ruggiero,
Peter Karmanos and
Bill Hay in the Hall's class of 2015.
Pronger, who now works for the NHL's Department of Player Safety but cannot officially retire for salary cap reasons until 2017, was declared eligible for Hall of Fame induction and will get in on his first try. On Sunday, the Flyers traded his contract to the Arizona Coyotes -- a move that helps Phoenix gain $4.9 million toward the NHL cap floor while paying the NHL minimum for the next two seasons and gives the Flyers cap relief under the ceiling.
Former Flyers players
Mark Recchi (who will likely earn selection in a future year) and
Eric Lindros as well as posthumous builders' category candidate and former Flyers head coach
Pat Quinn were not selected for induction by the Hall of Fame selection committee.
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