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Meltzer's Musings: Room for Read on Roster? |
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Over the course of his six-season career with the Philadelphia Flyers, forward Matt Read has gone from being viewed as one of the team's most underrated contributors (the first three years) to one of the most maligned players among segments of the fan base and media.
Some of the criticism has been merited, while some has been unfair. Read's role has changed somewhat over the last two seasons under Dave Hakstol. He went from moving all around the top nine to being strictly a bottom six forward. It is unrealistic to expect him to score 20-plus goals and 40-plus points at this stage of his career.
Read actually didn't do a bad job in 2016-17 relative to his role. He landed on the positive side of both the puck possession and traditional plus-minus registers while also chipping in 10 goals and 19 points in 63 games and having more takeaways than giveaways with his five-on-five ice time roughly split evenly between defensive zone and offensive zone starts.
No, from an offensive standpoint that is not really the full value sought from a player of his cap hit. The cap hit is the real issue here. He's still being paid along the lines of a 20-goal, 40-point player who can also be deployed on both ends of special teams and trusted to provide speed as well as defensively-aware play at five-on-five. Read hasn't been that level of performer on a regular basis since the 2013-14 season.
For whatever combination of reasons, whether it was his injury-plagued 2014-15 season, focusing mainly on defensive play or coping with long droughts the last two seasons, Read has not seemed as quick and certainly not as confident with the puck. Even so, a player can only fairly be judged by how he does in his assigned tasks. Read is still a competent bottom-six forward.
The question now is whether there is still a spot for him in the Flyers' lineup as the final season of his contract approaches. There is a lot of competition for spots. Read is competing with the likes of Scott Laughton, Mike Vecchione and Taylor Leier as well as holdover players such as Michael Raffl. There are no guarantees that Read will be part of the opening night roster.
If the preseason numbers game plays out in such a way that there is no longer a roster space for Read in the final year of his current contract, the Flyers could waive him and assign him to Lehigh Valley after he clears.
That would give the Flyers $1.025 million of cap relief while leaving a $2.625 cap hit for the 2017-18 season. Read would still be available for callups in the event of injuries on the Flyers' roster. Early in the offseason, there was some media speculation of a potential buyout, but that was never a likely scenario and it was no surprise that it did not happen. If the Flyers had bought out Read, they'd have carried a $1.29 cap hit in 2017-18 (on top of the final year of the R.J. Umberger buyout cap hit) and a $1.167 cap hit in 2018-19.
During the preseason, as clubs assess their rosters and there is some inevitable injury attrition, the Flyers could also try to find a trade partner. While he won't be penciled in a top nine forward anymore, there are still teams he could help as a role player. Once again, though, Read's cap hit is the complicating factor. If he made $1.8 million against the cap on an expiring contract rather than $3.65 million, he'd be a more viable trade candidate. The Flyers might be willing to absorb a small portion of Read's cap hit but not a big chunk of it.
If there is a space for him on next year's roster, the Flyers may simply ride out the final year of his contract with Read serving as a utility forward. He always keeps himself in good shape and he has proven his versatility over the years. There is also motivation to play for a contract as an unrestricted free agent next summer. Read turned 31 in June. He's still young enough to play a role in an NHL lineup.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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