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Quick Hits: July, 19, 2024
1) In the current edition of the Flyers Daily podcast, Jason Myrtetus discusses what elements over the remainder of the offseason will go into setting realistic expectations for the 2024-25 season. Jason also speaks with wing prospect Denver Barkey in a conversation recorded earlier this month during Development Camp.
2) One of the key aspects that Jason discussed in setting expectations for the next season revolves, at least in part, around the status of winger Travis Konecny. An unrestricted free agent next summer if not signed to an extension, Konecny's situation is one that both the player (via veteran agent Pat Morris of Newport Sports Management) and the team want to resolve ahead of the 2024-25 season if possible. Some notes:
* Konecny became eligible to sign an extension on July 1, 2024, although it's something that has been discussed for a while in principle.
* From all indications, the Konecny camp came in with an initial ask in the $10 million AAV cap range on a long-term contract.
* It appears that the Flyers are willing to be creative regarding contract term and AAV: maximizing term and/or more up-front money (signing bonus and/or base salary) with back-loaded annual salary decreases to lower the AAV OR via a higher AAV/ shorter term arrangement. The Flyers appear to be comfortable with either structure. It's not clear which would be Konecny's preference or Morris' recommendation to his client.
* Konecny stated on Exit Day that he prefers to stay with the Flyers for the long haul. From all indications, the Flyers appear to prefer an extension to a trade. This doesn't make all in the fan base happy -- some vocally advocate for a trade as part of the rebuild process -- but is the reality. However, if the team and agent/player cannot get within striking distance, the Flyers might have to entertain trade possibilities.
* Morris is a veteran agent who has worked many times with the Flyers. However, he wants to get his client as close as possible to what the agent figures TK could get on the open market next year. The benefit to an extension is the Flyers could offer an eighth year on a deal, unlike other clubs when the current contract expires.
Keep in mind, too, that Konecny's current deal, signed in 2019) was not finished before the start of training camp. Both he and Ivan Provorov, represented by Mark Gandler) missed the start of former head coach Alain Vigneault's first camp. This year's camp is a little different since Konecny already has a valid contract for the season, but it does show that Morris is comfortable with the possibility that a new deal might not get wrapped up before the start of camp.
* Deals often get done, especially if there's some compromise involved, when there's a sense of pressure on both sides. Mid-July to mid-August is often the portion of the off-season where hockey people go on vacation. The most common exception is trying to head off scheduled arbitration hearings (not applicable in this case) with a new contract.
3) July 19 Flyers Alumni birthday: Tomas Divisek (1979).
4) July 19 in Flyers History:
1978: After playing one pro season with the AHL's Maine Mariners, prospect Brian Burke retires as active player. He goes back to attend law school, and later becomes an NHL league or team executive in different phases of his career.
1985: Defenseman Kevin "Kato" McCarthy re-signs with Philadelphia for a second stint in the Flyers' organization. The former NHL All-Star (with Vancouver) is no longer the same caliber of player he was as a younger defenseman and is more of a depth option this time around, and primarily plays with the AHL's Hershey Bears (a combined six NHL games with the Flyers) over the next two seasons. Years later, McCarthy becomes a Flyers assistant coach during Peter Laviolette's tenure as head coach. McCarthy is on Laviolette's staffs in Carolina, Philadelphia, Nashville and Washington.
1994: The Flyers sign rugged winger Phil Crowe, formerly with the Los Angeles Kings, as an unrestricted agent. Crowe spends the entire 1994-95 season with Hershey but gets into 16 games with the Flyers (1g, 1a, 28 PIM) during a 1995-96 call-up stint.
2006: The Flyers sign veteran winger Geoff Sanderson to a two-year contract. The former two-time 40 goal-scorer and four-time 34-plus goal scorer, is no longer the calber of offensive player he was during his years with the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes (where he played under head coach Paul Holmgren during his peak years). Sanderson's stint with the Flyers does bring about a resurgence from the now 34-year-old forward. The next summer, he is dealt to the Edmonton Oilers along with Joni Pitkanen in the deal that brings Joffrey Lupul and Jason Smith to Philadelphia.
2010: Needing cap relief, the Flyers deal former two-time 40-goal scoring left winger Simon Gagne to the Tampa Bay Lightning in an ill-fated deal for third-pairing defenseman Matt Walker. Earlier in the summer, the Boston Bruins offered the Flyers a one-for-one exchange for Gagne with goaltender Tim Thomas coming back to Philadelphia. The Flyers were unable to pull the trigger for two reasons: 1) The deal would not have provided any cap relief because Gagne's cap hit and Thomas' were nearly identical, and 2) Gagne at that point, refused to waive his no-trade clause (although Thomas was willing to waive his own to come to Philadelphia).
Subsequently, as the situation became increasingly heated, Gagne (via agent Bob Sauve) agreed to waive his no trade for one team and one team only: Tampa Bay. Some of Tampa's prominent players of the time, including Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, encouraged Gagne to join them. The Flyers ultimately made the trade for Walker plus a 2011 fourth-round pick with Tampa's then-GM Steve Yzerman, hoping to at least get an NHL roster player.
Walker, turned out to have a degenerative hip condition and was also injured in a preseason fight during an exhibition game. He winds up playing in just a combined eight games (four apiece in 2010-11 and 2011-12) as a Flyer. He misses the entire 2012-13 season due a back injury and then retires.
Gagne fares a little -- but not much -- better in Tampa. Due to a neck injury, he plays 63 regular season games plus 15 playoff games in 2010-11. The next year, he's sidelined and eventually traded to the Los Angeles Kings, where he gets into 34 regular season games (17 points) and is a bit player (four playoffs games) in LA's run to their second Stanley Cup of the 2010s. Gagne later returns to the Flyers for a second stint (27 games, 11 points) during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.
For Thomas and Bruins, it turns out be a case where a non-trade during the summer of 2010 turned out for the best. After missing much of the 2009-10 season, he wins the Stanley Cup, the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Vezina Trophy (his second) in 2011-12 with Boston after temporarily reclaiming the Bruins' starting job from young goalie Tuukka Rask.
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