I heard something today...

[djwilli3]

I realize the team has to be financially responsible and all, but they take it to an extreme. How good would it look now to have Briere still locked down for another couple of years at 5 million per year? The FO has to realize that contracts are going to keep going up and up every year. If you sign Miller at 6 to 6.5 mil per year in a couple of years that's probably going to be a steal for him. It's great to be responsible with money but you also have to look 4-5 years down the road and realize the money looks big now but in the future it won't.

 

I really feel the FO lives in the now and doesn't look far enough down the road.

 

I think that's pretty much exactly it. The FO lacks imagination and foresight, the two things you need to run a solid FO in the NHL. You need to be able to figure out what system to run and what players will fit the system, and most importantly, how to get them to sign here. You also need to look forward and be able to get those players signed to deals that may look a tad expensive now, but in two or three years will be a steal for what they are going to get paid. If they don't find a way to keep both Miller and Pommer, this team is going to start looking like it did at the end of the Regas years. Bankrupt of talent and unable to draw any in. That situation is bad for everyone, particularly us fans. Let's hope they wise up, though I find that to be rather unlikely.

[carpandean]

I realize the team has to be financially responsible and all, but they take it to an extreme. How good would it look now to have Briere still locked down for another couple of years at 5 million per year? The FO has to realize that contracts are going to keep going up and up every year. If you sign Miller at 6 to 6.5 mil per year in a couple of years that's probably going to be a steal for him. It's great to be responsible with money but you also have to look 4-5 years down the road and realize the money looks big now but in the future it won't.

Admittedly, Briere at $5M per year doesn't look as bad as it did at this time last year (I still wouldn't take him for the contract that he got), the growth that you have seen is unlikely to continue at the same rate. The relative increase in the value of the Canadian dollar and the transition to the highest % level of revenues allowed under the CBA have caused the cap to grow at a rate that is not likely to continue. From here on out, cap growth will only come from revenue growth. The Flyers have cap issues still despite the growth and if the cap plateaus, teams like theirs are going to have troubles. Teams have to be careful how many $7+ million players they have and we already have one in Vanek.