So pointing out that other teams make cap mistakes somehow excuses the Flyers? Not sure I get the logic. The issue with the Flyers is getting burned by the same mistake twice. Losing decent depth guys on waivers or recall waivers. Over 35 contracts that require guys to sit on LTIR for a year or four. Signing veteran UFAs to long term big money deals that make them look overpaid for the last couple seasons of the deal.
Was any of these things fatal? No. The Flyers have been a good, contending team during most of Holmgrens term as GM. But it makes me wonder if a slightly less aggressive or more nuanced approach would have yielded better results, as good as the results generally were.
This isn't shredding the Flyers or Holmgren as idiots, it's simply a bit of criticism over some avoidable mistakes that might have set them back needlessly
- Jsaquella
Some of what is written in this post makes it clear that the logic is not gotten. First of all, it was never stated that the Flyers should be "excused" for anything. Secondly, this post clearly points out a lot of what some fans don't get about the Cap and how it changes things. Moves are labeled as mistakes when they really aren't.
When you make a move to add a better player to the team, which in the end result makes the overall team better, losing a depth player to waivers or trading a lesser role player to make cap room, is not a mistake. It's a choice.
The Flyers have one player, Chris Pronger that suffered a freak accident on the ice, which resulted in the Flyers having to carry him on LTIR. And those that know and understand the Cap, realize that Pronger being signed to an over 35 contract, has zero to do with that. Even if he wasn't signed to an over 35 contract, he would still be on LITR for the remainder of the life of his contract, even if he was 25 at the time of the injury. But I guess it's the Flyers fault, and a mistake that they made, that Pronger suffered that injury, and that was a mistake on the Flyers part that is a repeated fault. I'm curious as to what other player the Flyers have had to keep on LTIR, for a year or four? I think it's pretty clear that there is a lack of understanding on the cap, the CBA, and the difference between LTIR and a 35+ contract. Those erroneous statements alone are enough to disqualify a source and the flawed criticism given, by that source.
The salary cap changes things for teams. And it means that on occasion, top teams with top players and a high team salary are going to have to make some moves that otherwise may not have been made. That's life with a salary cap. The Flyers don't get burned with the same mistakes twice. They makes choices between which players to keep, add, or lose.
The Cap has been in place since 2005, and yet some fans still don't get it. But really the point of the post was to point out that the Flyers aren't the only team that has some "warts" on the ledger when making player moves, and that teams such as the Devils and the Red Wings, who some label as the Holy Grail, sometimes have to make the same choices to maneuver in and around the Cap. And was not made to excuse the Flyers or Holmgren for anything. And really that is a simple point that doesn't require much logic to understand.
