We are only a few days away from the beginning of free agency and as one can imagine, the Philadelphia Flyers are running around like a chicken with its head cut off. It’s been a few days since the Flyers traded for and then subsequently extended defenseman Tony DeAngelo to a 2-year extension that pays him $5 million annually. Counting Ryan Ellis towards the cap, the Flyers have a little over $100,000 in projected cap space. We were told wondrous things about an aggressive re-tool, it was then converted to an aggressive rebuild, and then brought back as a re-tool after the hiring of John Tortorella. With a free agent class that consists of Johnny Gaudreau, Nazem Kadri, Evgeni Malkin, and even Claude Giroux, the always aggressive Flyers have suddenly stood pat after the draft, but what’s more concerning is how they are stuck in a conundrum in terms of a James van Riemsdyk move.
It has been on the mind of Flyers fans for years but the $7 million AAV attached to van Riemsdyk was going to rear it’s ugly head at some point and here we are in the summer of 2022 – a very pivotal summer at that for a variety of reasons – and the Flyers have found themselves in one of their worst cap predicaments in the salary cap era. Trading van Riemsdyk at this point is a must, not only to try and pursue big name free agents, but to literally have any kind of cap flexibility. Paying a third liner $7 million against the cap is not the way to run a successful franchise, he may score 20 goals but for that price tag he should be hitting numbers upwards of 35.
There have been an onslaught of similar trades in the past with teams trying to shed salary but it’s even more present in the last few years with a flat cap. Almost every team is up against the cap in some way shape or form and there are only a handful of teams that have the cap space and that have the wherewithal to even want to complete a deal like this. They know they’re at a premium, they know the Flyers are desperate, and they know they can ask for an “absurd” offer.
The going rate for trades of this calibre has always involved a second round pick of some kind. The Arizona Coyotes took on Shayne Gostisbehere, a second round pick, and a seventh round pick in exchange for cap relief from the Flyers. The Coyotes also took 2 second round picks and a third round pick from the New York Islanders for taking on the final 2 years of Andrew Ladd. They also took a prospect, a second round pick, and a seventh round pick from the Florida Panthers as they acquired the final year of Anton Stralman, and then they made a huge splash last summer when they traded Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland to the Vancouver Canucks for the final years of Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, and Antoine Roussel, while also taking their first round pick in the draft (9th overall), another second round pick, and another seventh round pick. In total, they took on the contracts of Gostisbehere, Ladd, Eriksson, Beagle, Roussel, and Stralman for a first round pick, 5 second round picks, and 3 seventh round picks. The contending teams were desperate to unload the bad salaries and the Coyotes welcomed them with open arms but at a high premium.
Trading for Tony DeAngelo was fine. It fit the aggressive re-tool part of their picture, they needed a quarterback on the power play, they needed a defenseman who can handle the puck, they needed a right-handed shooting defenseman, and pickings are apparently slim with Ellis still on the mend. The price of acquisition was rather high after the 26 year old had a productive season with the Carolina Hurricanes after being bought out by the New York Rangers for his off-ice conduct. He was a pending RFA and the Hurricanes wanted to keep him but they had bigger fish to fry after it was known that DeAngelo wanted a significant – but also much deserved – pay raise this summer. The Flyers stepped in and traded a second round pick, a third round pick, and fourth round pick for the defenseman and a seventh round pick. This was coming almost a year after the Flyers shipped out a first round pick, a second round pick, and Robert Hagg for Rasmus Ristolainen.
Draft picks hold value in the eyes of a lot of general managers, maybe even most of them, except for the one the Flyers hired. Chuck Fletcher loves making big and bold moves and now he’s on his third re-tool in four seasons and with that, the Flyers’ cupboard is barren. They were without a first round pick last season, they were without a second round pick this year, they will be without a second round pick for the next two seasons, and they will be without their own third round pick next year but they do own two from the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers – notably important if they intend on signing any restricted free agents to offer sheets from over $1,386,490 to $2,100,742, over $4,201,488 to $6,302,230, over $4,201,488 to $6,302,230, or over $8,402,975 to $10,503,720 since they all require at least a third round pick.
Now there are reports that the Flyers are hesitant on offering the 2024 first round pick from the Florida Panthers in any deal involving James van Riemsdyk. Is it a steep price? Of course, any time you trade a first round pick, it’s a big move and a tough pill to swallow, but considering that the Flyers have put themselves in this position and they’ve barricaded themselves into a corner; they really don’t have a choice. They urged fans in January that they will be aggressive in the offseason, they will hand out blank cheques, and they will bring back a team that is a contender. They kept up with that mantra all the way to the draft and now they are apparently putting their foot down on trading future assets. This team as it is currently assembled is going to be a basement dweller and until they move that final year of James van Riemsdyk’s contract, and they will not be able to make sufficient and adequate moves to allow them to succeed.
The rebuild that we all wanted is out the window and was never even a thought for the aggressive front office. Alex DeBrincat cost almost the same as Rasmus Ristolainen and say what you will about either player, and say what you will about the future contract that will be required, but I’m sure the Flyers would have benefitted more from one season at $6.4 million and then another at $9 million from DeBrincat compared to one season at $5.4 million and then another 5 at $5.1 million from Ristolainen.
There are reports everywhere about how the Flyers still want Johnny Gaudreau and there are reports that Gaudreau might be waiting on the Flyers’ situation to make his decision – whether they’re true or not remains to be seen – but it’s hard not to believe them. Gaudreau reportedly rejected Calgary’s most recent offer of $9.5 million for 8 years and a lot of it has to do with the fact that he’s unsure on where he wants to play vs compensation. Placing Ryan Ellis on LTIR is a good start because that alleviates $6.275 million, trading van Riemsdyk then gives you an additional $7 million, and that would be plenty to sign Gaudreau and have some change on the side. It seems for the first time in a long time that an actual marquee free agent wants to come to Philadelphia and it helps that he’s a local product, it helps that he’s close with Kevin Hayes and Cam Atkinson, and it doesn’t hurt that he rooted for the Flyers as a kid.
If all this is true, then it would be completely foolish not to trade the 2024 first round pick that could very well end up being a very late selection for a chance at getting Gaudreau. The Flyers could also buyout or trade Oskar Lindblom that would then give them an additional $3 million+ and they could go out and get some more help. Their roster has several holes and allocating heavy amounts of money on bottom 6 players (van Riemsdyk relegated to the third line and Lindblom playing a lot of 4th line minutes) is not a recipe for success.
If you’re willing to trade a first round pick and a second round pick for Rasmus Ristolainen, if you’re willing to cough up a second round pick to get rid of Shayne Gostisbehere, and if you’re willing to trade 3 picks, including a second round pick, for Tony DeAngelo, why are you putting your foot down when actual marquee talent is up for grabs? Nothing against Ristolainen or DeAngelo, but they don’t necessarily hold a candle to DeBrincat and/or Gaudreau. Do the Flyers look desperate? Absolutely, but salary cap is at a premium right now and has been ever since COVID and the flat cap.
There are only a handful of teams that would be willing to take on van Riemsdyk’s contract in full, while the rest of the league is trying to get better and make big moves. Contact the Anaheim Ducks who have $39 million in cap space, contact the Buffalo Sabres who have $32 million, contact the Detroit Red Wings who have $31 million, contact the Arizona Coyotes who have almost $30 million, and contact the Seattle Kraken who have $22 million. These are all teams either rebuilding, willing to take on a bad contract for draft capital, and have nothing to lose as they add a 20+ goal scorer for one season with still ample amount of cap leftover.
There were reports that the Ottawa Senators had originally offered their 7th overall pick to the Buffalo Sabres alongside Matt Murray. The 2-time Cup champion has 2 years left at $6.25 million AAV but he nixed the deal because he didn’t want to go to Buffalo. Instead, the Senators traded that 7th overall pick and acquired DeBrincat. The morale of that story is that trading bad contracts during an era of the flat cap – or in this case a one million increase – is extremely tough and you’re going to have to pay a premium. The Senators were willing to offer a 7th overall selection in this past draft, whereas the Flyers would be trading a first round pick 2 years from now that could very well end up being a late selection with how Florida is projected to line up in the next few years.
The Flyers have committed to a re-tool and they have committed to an aggressive summer. With that commitment they actually have to go out there and make the brazen and bashful moves they said they were going to make back in January. You can’t dip your toe in the water and then back out last second because it’s too cold; you already made money moves that have hampered your finances. It can all be fixed by simply adding a future first to van Riemsdyk and then finding a partner for Lindblom, who I doubt will be tough to trade.
If you’re willing to cough up second round picks without a second thought, why are you stopping there? You want marquee free agents to get the fans to flock back to the Wells Fargo Center, you have the biggest name on the market at least listening to your offer, so what’s the hold up?
