He was born without a comma key, he's very sensitive about it.
- BulliesPhan87

Dude comon don't talk about his comma key

OK, frigging Lawyers(no offense to Lawyers), but seriously.
- jstross

It is kinda important. Not only is there the 10% upper limit but there are a different set of rules when it comes to adding up the cap hits. I believe one of them is that the players signed to two way contracts count against the cap in proportion to the amount of games played in the NHL. Conversely, during the season, if Gervais or whomever, Lauridson, is sent down, they don't count against the cap.

MJL cleared that up nicely on the last page.

As long as they start the season under the cap, they can get LTIR relief for Pronger and keep both. But, if they don;t move a contract out, they can't...even after Pronger goes on LTIR
- Jsaquella

Regardless it is not the 50 contract limit that is the problem. They need to move salary in order to open up space, which would hopefully allow them to sign Gagne. There is a big difference between shedding a 'contract' to get under the limit of 50 and shedding 'salary' to get under the cap. The comment I originally disagreed with specifically referenced the 50 contract limit dictating roster moves and made no mention of the salary limit. They could trade Gus or Lauridsen for a pick. That sheds a 'contract' but it doesn't allow them to allocate enough 'salary' under the cap to sign Gagne. They need to move one of a few specific contracts, namely Mesz, Grossmann, or Coburn to safely get under the cap. I'm not going to quote any advanced stats articles to support this statement, but I am going to stick by my stance that over allocation of salary cap space to the blue line, as opposed to the Hall and Danis contracts, is what is influencing roster decisions right now, specifically in regards to Gagne. I don't think it has much if any effect on whether they keep Laughton.

It is kinda important. Not only is there the 10% upper limit but there are a different set of rules when it comes to adding up the cap hits. I believe one of them is that the players signed to two way contracts count against the cap even if they haven't played in the NHL. Conversely, during the season, is Gervais or whomever, Lauridson, is sent down, the don't count against the cap.
- GirouxForTheShow

Who are all of those players on two-ways that count against the cap?

Here are the off season Cap accounting rules. For your reading pleasure.


All players on one-way contracts, regardless of where (or if) they were playing the previous year.
All players on two-way contracts, in proportion to the number of days spent on an NHL roster the previous season.
All restricted free agents who have been extended a qualifying offer (while the offer is valid), with one-way qualifying offers counting in full and two-way qualifying offers counting as described in No. 2.
All restricted free agents signed to an offer sheet (such players count against the team extending the offer sheet while it is still valid).
All buyouts.
- MJL

Bump for Jake

It is kinda important. Not only is there the 10% upper limit but there are a different set of rules when it comes to adding up the cap hits. I believe one of them is that the players signed to two way contracts count against the cap even if they haven't played in the NHL. Conversely, during the season, is Gervais or whomever, Lauridson, is sent down, the don't count against the cap.

MJL cleared that up nicely on the last page.
- GirouxForTheShow

The part about players signed to two way deals is not exactly correct.

The part about players signed to two way deals is not exactly correct.
- MJL

Edited when I read your post.

Who are all of those players on two-ways that count against the cap?
- JAKEw1234

Read the rules for off season Cap accounting. All the players on 2 way deals they used last Season. As an example, the Flyers have to account for the following totals, on the off season Cap.

$555,808 for McGinn
$160,859 for Laughton
$43,333 for Akeson
$196,970 for Lauridsen


Just to name a few.

Regardless it is not the 50 contract limit that is the problem. They need to move salary in order to open up space, which would hopefully allow them to sign Gagne. There is a big difference between shedding a 'contract' to get under the limit of 50 and shedding 'salary' to get under the cap. The comment I originally disagreed with specifically referenced the 50 contract limit dictating roster moves and made no mention of the salary limit. They could trade Gus or Lauridsen for a pick. That sheds a 'contract' but it doesn't allow them to allocate enough 'salary' under the cap to sign Gagne. They need to move one of a few specific contracts, namely Mesz, Grossmann, or Coburn to safely get under the cap. I'm not going to quote any advanced stats articles to support this statement, but I am going to stick by my stance that over allocation of salary cap space to the blue line, as opposed to the Hall and Danis contracts, is what is influencing roster decisions right now, specifically in regards to Gagne. I don't think it has much if any effect on whether they keep Laughton.
- Benway

All dead on accurate. In terms of the In Season cap picture.

Read the rules for off season Cap accounting. All the players on 2 way deals they used last Season. As an example, the Flyers have to account for the following totals.

$555,808 for McGinn
$160,859 for Laughton
$43,333 for Akeson
$196,970 for Lauridsen
$89,697 for Manning

Just to name a few.
- MJL

I get it. The fact that there were so many injuries last year forced the Flyers to use a lot of players on 2 way contracts. That impacts their off season cap. Very interesting.

I get it. The fact that there were so many injuries last year forced the Flyers to use a lot of players on 2 way contracts. That impacts their off season cap. Very interesting.
- jstross

Yep. There is a lot to the Cap and how it works. It takes a lot of time to learn it and understand it.

Read the rules for off season Cap accounting. All the players on 2 way deals they used last Season. As an example, the Flyers have to account for the following totals, on the off season Cap.

$555,808 for McGinn
$160,859 for Laughton
$43,333 for Akeson
$196,970 for Lauridsen
$89,697 for Manning

Just to name a few.
- MJL

I was hoping you'd name them so I could use the capgeek calc.

I was hoping you'd name them so I could use the capgeek calc.
- JAKEw1234

You can't use the Capgeek calculator for the off season Cap.

This tells you all you need to know.

http://www.capgeek.com/flyers/archive/

You can't use the Capgeek calculator for the off season Cap.

This tells you all you need to know.

http://www.capgeek.com/flyers/archive/
- MJL

You can, you just have to think of -$6.43 million as your limit instead of $0. It takes a little bit of imagination

You can, you just have to think of -$6.43 million as your limit instead of $0. It takes a little bit of imagination
- JAKEw1234

Trust me, you can't. I know Capgeek, and how the calculator works. And I know how the off season Cap works. It can't be used for the off season. Nothing to do with what the limit is.

So...does Kovalchuk play in the K? I'm so confused. What a clownshow....

And we thought the Bryz experiment was bad....

NICE ONE LOU!

EDIT: My take on the whole situation, for what it's worth, is as follows:

Kovalchump

Kovalchump
- Flyskippy

woah kovalchuk retires is that good or bad for the devils

Teams with Championship aspirations, at the end of the Season should use all their Cap space. Absolutely.
- MJL

Yet out of the last four teams standing, every single on of them went into the PO's w/ ample cap-space, despite many of them adding big contracts at the TDL:

LA: $8,174,201
Boston: $5,713,438
Pittsburgh: $3,460,867
Chicago: $2,856,456


The only three teams (MIN, PHI, VAN) that ended the season essentially at (or over) the max? They only managed to win a total of 1 playoff game between them, with two of those clubs incurring bonus overages (PHI, MIN).

It looks like, at least during the course of 2012-13, that maxing out cap space isn't exactly the arbiter between success and failure.

Smart spending > Free spending

... I clearly stated that a team that might be looking to make moves to bolster the lineup, at the deadline, should leave a few slots open.
While a team that is a young developing team, should use all their contract slots to try build up the prospect pool.

The Flyers are a team that currently should be trying to acquire all the young talent they can.
- MJL

Yet the Flyers used all their open contract slots on aging vets, an Austrian longshot, and a third-string goalie this summer while only adding a couple of UFA overagers to the prospect pool... how does that fit within that ridiculous dichotomy of yours?

I'll reiterate, every team in the NHL could stand to benefit from having some open cap space and a few open contract slots for unforeseen eventualities and opportunities... it's not only prudent, it's just plain common sense.

Virtually every other team plans ahead like that... the Flyers, on the other hand, are always over the cap and up against the 50-limit and have been forced into making several bad moves as a result. Jsaq mentioned one related to the 50-limit... and we all know there are plenty of examples related to the cap-limit.

But hey, who cares. Need another Jason Bacashihua? Sure, let's sign Yann Danis.

woah kovalchuk retires is that good or bad for the devils
- 2Real

In the immediate future? It's devastating. They were 28th in the league in goals for last season, and that was with Kovy. In the far future? Like I said a few pages pack, it could potentially mean the beginning of the end for the team. Their financial situation is on thin ice as it is. With them losing their superstar and most marketable player only behind Broduer (Who's also leaving in a year), I suspect their ticket sales and TV viewership will plummet even further down, with the rate of sales going down even more when their team is unable to make the playoffs for 2 years in a row. Honestly, their only hope is either Uncle Lou pulling big moves, or if they pull an Ottawa this season and make the playoffs off of a largely rookie roster led by amazing coaching and Elias stepping up. And even if they do, if you think losing Kovy will hurt their market, imagine what will happen to the team's sales and viewership when Broduer retires next season. I do hope they survive, because behind the Penguins they're our 2nd biggest rivalry, but it's looking increasingly bleak for their future. If I were Uncle Lou, I would sell the farm and all of their 1st rounders for the foreseeable future for a superstar scorer and a few other great players, just to ice a good win-now team to keep viewership and sales up for the next few years. I hear Vanek is available, and Buffalo is looking for prospects. I'd also go hard for Jagr or whatever big name free agents they can get their hands on. Jagr might be able to save the day (at least temporarily) here just by being a big name. If they can get Vanek and Jagr, then there's hope.

If the NJD get moved. Does that mean all Devil's fans will become Flyers fans? My tummy hurts.

If the NJD get moved. Does that mean all Devil's fans will become Flyers fans? My tummy hurts.
- coffee junkie

I'd say Rangers, if we're going by geography

I'd say Rangers, if we're going by geography
- Giroux_Is_God

They'll probably split the state between Flyers and Rangers and some Islanders sprinkled around (pretty much how it is now :lol so lower state Devils fan will come to the Flyers, and upper state people will just shift their focus to the Rags.

If the NJD get moved. Does that mean all Devil's fans will become Flyers fans? My tummy hurts.
- coffee junkie

what Devils fans?