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Stolarz Out "Months, Not Weeks" |
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Speaking with reporters via conference call on Saturday, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall gave an update on goaltending prospect Anthony Stolarz, who underwent surgery on Thursday to repair a re-torn meniscus in his left knee. The Flyers general manager said that the Lehigh Valley Phantoms goaltender would be out "months, not weeks" and the organization will take every precaution.
Originally injured during a late-season AHL game in April, Stolarz faced a probable six-month recovery period following left knee meniscus surgery. He progressed well over the summer but was not going to be ready by opening night. Hextall said the Flyers were aware of this, and it factored into the decision to sign veteran goaltender Leland Irving to an AHL contract on Aug. 31.
A few days later, Stolarz re-tore the meniscus. According to the Flyers' GM, it happened off the ice and not when making "an athletic movement." The rate of re-injury after meniscus repair surgery is, unfortunately, quite high.
However, many goaltenders successfully deal with meniscus issues during their careers. Over the long term, many goalie undergo at least partial meniscectomy (as opposed to meniscus repair) and manage around it with a maintenance plan. Former Flyers goaltender Steve Mason is among the NHL goalies who has done so after undergoing partial meniscectomy.
Stolarz should not miss the full 2017-18 season. However, it appears that he will miss much of the campaign. On July 15, he signed a one-year, two-way contract as a restricted free agent. At the NHL level, the deal carries a $725,000 cap hit.
Hextall said he will evaluate the ongoing development of second-year goaltender Alex Lyon and the play of veteran Irving in camp before making a decision on whether he feels the Flyers have enough NHL-level depth in the event of injury to Brian Elliott or the oft-injured Michal Neuvirth. Last season, Hextall felt comfortable with Stolarz as the primary option after Mason (now with Winnipeg) and Neuvirth.
From a salary cap standpoint, the Flyers are forbidden under Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) rules from assigning an injured player such as Stolarz to the AHL. The Flyers have the salary cap space available to absorb Stolarz's cap hit while he is on injured reserve (IR), so long-term injured reserve (LTIR) really wouldn't be an option here. However, the goalie appears to be eligible for a CBA designation called Season Opening Injured Reserve (SOIR) to obtain partial cap relief.
Under SOIR, there is a different daily salary calculation method used for determining salary cap hits than for an active roster player or one on standard IR. It works as follows for discounted cap-hit eligibility:
* The player must be on a two-way contract and accrued a minimum of one and maximum of 49 NHL games the previous season. Stolarz, who appeared in seven NHL games, fits both criteria.
* If the player meets the SOIR eligibility criteria for partial cap relief, his cap hit is calculated by multiplying the number of days (not games) he spent in the NHL last season by his full NHL-level cap hit and then dividing it by the number of days in the previous NHL season.
I have not crunched all of the numbers as of this writing, but the Flyers will be able to get relief on a significant portion of Stolarz's cap hit. As a guesstimate, Stolarz's cap hit during his absence should only come to about $240,000 with the rest allayed via SOIR designation.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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