Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Meltzer's Musings: Luongo, Cap Space

June 26, 2013, 7:31 AM ET [1232 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Flyers Cap Space and Luongo

As soon as the Flyers file compliance buyout paperwork today to eliminate the contracts of Danny Briere and Ilya Bryzgalov from their salary cap figure, the club can officially announce the signing of Mark Streit. At that point, the team will have $4,181,478 of open cap space. This does not include the team's ability to use an in-season long-term injured reserve allowance for Chris Pronger ($4,941,429).

The team is still going to trade a defenseman both to alleviate the logjam on the roster and to free some additional cap space. The most likely candidate to get traded is Andrej Meszaros ($4 million cap hit, unrestricted free agent in 2014). Braydon Coburn ($4.5 million cap hit, partial no-trade clause) is a second possibility but only if the team heavily pursues an upgrade on the current top three on the blueline. Kimmo Timonen ($6 million cap hit) is likely to retire after the 2013-14 season.

As of now, cap space will NOT be a problem for the Flyers either in 2013-14 or in terms of extending the contracts of potential free agents before the 2014-15 season. Of course, that could change rapidly depending on the roster moves the team makes in the days and weeks to come.

With the Bryzgalov buyout, goaltending is one of the first issues the team is going to have to figure out for next season. While it is possible that former Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason could play to a similar level to the one he displayed in a brief late-season trial following his acquistion from Columbus, relying on Mason and either a discount veteran backup goaltender or another unproven starter would be an extremely risky strategy.

It seems more likely that the Flyers will either go for a split-time starting arrangement by signing someone such as impending unrestricted free agent Ray Emery or opt for a proven full-time starter candidate such as Roberto Luongo.

Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis is still clinging to hope that he will be able to trade Luongo in order to avoid burning up a compliance buyout that would keep the goalie on the payroll (but not the salary cap) for the next 18 years. Good luck with that.

Luongo would represent a goaltending upgrade for many teams in the NHL, including the Flyers. However, no team in the NHL wants to take on the 34-year-old's current contract, which carries a $5.33 cap hit and runs through the end of the 2021-22 season. In addition, there is no benefit to Luongo to formally waive his full no-trade clause at this point. As a free agent, he will more than make up the one-third difference between the buyout payments and his full current salary.

If and when Luongo hits the unrestricted free agent market, the Flyers are a candidate to pursue his services. At yesterday's Bryzgalov press conference in Voorhees, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said that Luongo is not an option. What that really meant is that the Flyers aren't about to trade for him. As a free agent, Luongo would immediately become an attractive option.

The team will have the cap space to pursue Luongo and, in conjunction with at least one more cap-space clearing move, still be able to address other areas of the roster. However, the Flyers don't want to put themselves in the same situation they did with Bryzgalov. Luongo is probably going to pull in something north of the deal Niklas Bäckström recently signed to re-up with the Wild (three years, $3.4 million cap hit). It could take a three-year or even a four-year deal in the neighborhood of a $4 million cap hit to sign Luongo, because the Flyers would not be the only interested team.

As an alternative, the Flyers could sit tight and simply wait until Luongo signs elsewhere and the goalie marketplace increasingly becomes a buyer's market. There are only a few clubs actively looking for goalies.

If the Flyers go for the split-time option with Mason, veterans such as Emery or Evgeni Nabokov could be candidates. The likes of Jose Theodore or Dan Ellis would be one-year backup possibilities if the Flyers are going to roll the dice with Mason as their starter.

If Tim Thomas elects to return to the NHL, he'd be another possibility. The Islanders would have the option of tolling his contract or setting him loose as an unrestricted free agent.

**********

Kindle users: Please sign up for Flyers Buzz. For more information click here.

Click below to follow me on Twitter:

Join the Discussion: » 1232 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Bill Meltzer
» Flyers Gameday: 3/28/24 @ MTL
» Wrap: Flyers Lose 6-5 OT Game to Rangers
» Flyers Gameday: 3/26/24 @ NYR
» Quick Hits: Flyers-FLA Wrap, Flyers Daily, Phantoms, Bigger than Hockey
» Flyers Gameday: 3/24/2024 vs. FLA; Phantoms Update