carpandean Posted March 24, 2009 Report Posted March 24, 2009 Flyers prospects--Carter and Richards--took the next step in the NHL. Other than Vanek, the Sabres prospects have leveled off or regressed. No wondering why they sit on the outside looking in once again. Funny, all three of those players are 2003 first-rounders (as is Flyers defenseman Braydon Corburn.) That was a very good year in the first round, but I'm sure that there are more than a few teams that would trade their higher pick to get Richards now.
tom webster Posted March 24, 2009 Report Posted March 24, 2009 They will be letting good talent go over the next two years because of Danny's contract. They are at the cap this year and the only contract of any real size that is expiring is Knuble's (Hatcher, too, but he's been on LTIR for a long time.) Both of their goaltenders, who were making a combine $4.75 million, are UFAs this summer, so signing one of them to a starter's contract and bringing in a backup will require an increase in cap hit. Even if they get their goaltenders for the same cost and bring up kids, they would be over the $56 million cap mark (assume Rathje doesn't come back; worse off if he does) next year without re-signing Knuble. That means that someone will have to go just to get under the cap, which is expected to be around $55 million. With a realistic starting goaltender salary, it will likely have to be somebody with a substantial contract. The year after that, the only contract with any value that comes off of their books is Jones', but Braydon Coburn will be a RFA and will likely get a big raise. As such, their cap hit will likely be close to the $55 million mark again. Problem is that the cap is expected to drop a lot, possibly to below $50 million. Unless they can sucker someone into taking Danny's contract (unlikely given cap/salary and injuries), they will be forced to trade away some of their great young players. They have a very strong core with Richards, Carter, Gagner, Hartnell and Timonen all locked up for several more years. Unfortunately, when you add in Danny's contract, they will be forced to carry a thin roster in every other spot, possibly including goaltender, and may have to trade away one or two of those guys to get under the cap in two years. Sure, they look good now, but they are in as much trouble as anyone when the cap falls. They will not be doing whatever they want and, in fact, will likely be doing a lot of things that they don't want. Without Briere, they could build a team that could be a contender for several years; with his contract, they will likely have to rip it apart. They'll be fine. They still have better young forward talent and can unload Gagne and Lupol to any number of teams. Also, I still don't believe that the cap will drop dramatically in two years. The owners have a lot of motive to keep beating that drum and yet teams like Detroit and the Flyers are operating like it won't be a worry.
carpandean Posted March 24, 2009 Report Posted March 24, 2009 They'll be fine. They still have better young forward talent and can unload Gagne and Lupol to any number of teams. Exactly, they'll have have to give up talent because of Danny's contract. Yes, Gagne's concussion history is a concern, but so is Danny's own injury history and I'd rather have Gagne (plus $1.25 million per year) and if Danny's injury is recurring, then you are stuck with him and his big contract for a lot longer. As for Lupul, they just signed him last year and he's only 25. I'm sure they don't want to give him up. It would be, as I said, a case of having to give someone up. Also, I still don't believe that the cap will drop dramatically in two years. The owners have a lot of motive to keep beating that drum and yet teams like Detroit and the Flyers are operating like it won't be a worry. The Flyers haven't signed a new contract since last July (Lupul) and Detroit only has $36 million (that maybe $41 since I believe nhlnumbers totals don't use the new figures for extensions) committed for 2010-11, so I'm not sure what you mean. Yeah, they Red Wings signed Zetterberg, but as a franchise, they seem to have a way of finding cheap talent to fill in their rosters. The drop in the value of the Canadien dollar is enough to bring the cap down, just like its previous rise played a big role in driving up revenues (or the value thereof.)
X. Benedict Posted March 24, 2009 Report Posted March 24, 2009 They'll be fine. They still have better young forward talent and can unload Gagne and Lupol to any number of teams. Also, I still don't believe that the cap will drop dramatically in two years. The owners have a lot of motive to keep beating that drum and yet teams like Detroit and the Flyers are operating like it won't be a worry. They'll be fine at forward...........what they need is a goaltender.
tom webster Posted March 25, 2009 Report Posted March 25, 2009 Exactly, they'll have have to give up talent because of Danny's contract. Yes, Gagne's concussion history is a concern, but so is Danny's own injury history and I'd rather have Gagne (plus $1.25 million per year) and if Danny's injury is recurring, then you are stuck with him and his big contract for a lot longer. As for Lupul, they just signed him last year and he's only 25. I'm sure they don't want to give him up. It would be, as I said, a case of having to give someone up.The Flyers haven't signed a new contract since last July (Lupul) and Detroit only has $36 million (that maybe $41 since I believe nhlnumbers totals don't use the new figures for extensions) committed for 2010-11, so I'm not sure what you mean. Yeah, they Red Wings signed Zetterberg, but as a franchise, they seem to have a way of finding cheap talent to fill in their rosters. The drop in the value of the Canadien dollar is enough to bring the cap down, just like its previous rise played a big role in driving up revenues (or the value thereof.) Trust me carp, the cap will not dramatically drop and the Flyers and the rest of the teams that have done well in the past will continue to do well because of ownership committed to the Cup. Parting with Gagne and Lupol in order to add more quality as opposed to letting them walk for nothing is another major difference between Buffalo and Philly. Also, Danny has played almost 80 games in three of the past five seasons and his front loaded contract will make him easy to move after next year if they so choose. They are loaded with up and coming talent like Giroux and JVR and would have had to move guys like Gagne and Lupol anyway. Detroit does have $36 million committed for 10/11 but that is for 9 players. In addition they are avtivelhy trying to sign Franzen and insist they will be able to sign Hossa also although I don't see how.
carpandean Posted March 25, 2009 Report Posted March 25, 2009 Trust me carp, the cap will not dramatically drop and the Flyers and the rest of the teams that have done well in the past will continue to do well because of ownership committed to the Cup. We shall see in a year. his front loaded contract will make him easy to move after next year if they so choose. He has three years left at $7 million after next year before the two cheap years. That, coupled with his $6.5 million cap hit, makes me doubt that he will be "easy to move." Again, we'll see. How long is JvR going to play for UNH? Anyway, I still see Briere's contract as doing more harm than good for the Flyers. They were doing very well offensively without him and that $6.5 million in cap could go a long way toward fixing up their goaltending and defense. Richards is more of a team leader at 24 than Danny has ever been in his career. If they want to get rid of Lupul to make room for young up-and-comers, fine, but that doesn't help their backend. Dropping Danny could give them the ability to do that. Heck, if they truly believe that the cap won't go down, wouldn't they rather have that $6.5 million per year to put into an offer for Bouwmeester? Can you imagine their team, that had done quite well since a slow start without Danny, but with Bouwmeester anchoring the back end along with Timonen? Would that we could have such problems, eh?
shrader Posted March 25, 2009 Report Posted March 25, 2009 How long is JvR going to play for UNH? He hasn't exactly thrived up there as much as most would have expected. Hell, after seeing his first career goal, I expected him to be gone after the first year. If they're going to be tight to the cap, I could see him staying one more year. Sure, he could start the clock ticking towards his UFA days, but if he's facing the choice of the AHL vs. one more year of school, I think he'd choose Durham. I'll talk to some UNH fans later today and let you know what they think.
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