Quick Hits: June 16, 2023
1) Yesterday, the Flyers announced the hiring of franchise icon John LeClair to work side-by-side by Patrick Sharp as a special advisor to hockey operation. Sharp's hiring was announced on Tuesday.
2) Daily Faceoff: Jason Myrtetus discusses the LeClair hiring. Subsequently, he is joned by guest Noah Cates in a one-on-one interview recorded on Exit Day. To listen, click here.
3) Today is first day of the NHL buyout window, which runs until June 30. I am leery of the Flyers buying out either Kevin Hayes (three seasons remaining on his current contract, $7.14 million AAV) or Tony DeAngelo (one season remaining, $5 million) in lieu of being able to trade them. The team is not in imminent need of a cap space infusion and it's not wise, especially in the case of the six-season term on a Hayes buyout to absorb what would be three seasons of dead cap on the other side.
There's little secret that head coach John Tortorella identified Hayes as one of the players he wants the organization to subtract this offseason and that Hayes himself expects to be gone (although it's not what the player himself wants). Conversely, despite DeAngelo being scratched for the final five games of 2022-23 season -- even in a game where the Flyers were already shorthanded in terms of available defensemen -- Tortorella expressed a willingness to work with DeAngelo again in 2023-24. DeAngelo made it crystal clear on Exit Day that he wants to stay put next season but that it's not his decision to make.
The Flyers are working from a position of weakness in trying to trade Hayes. Perhaps they'd rather eat a buyout for six years than to eat half of the current deal for three years, part with draft picks and either take on someone else's unwanted contract and otherwise get little to no return back in the name of "addition by subtraction."
Even in a best-case scenario, Hayes' contract would be hard to trade right now because the term and cap hit. It became harder because Tortorella so publicly aired his grievances over the player's game, moving him from center to left wing for a chunk of the season, and reducing his role. Although Hayes produced a Flyers career-high 54 points and played in the NHL All-Star Game, his trade capital was devalued in a bear market.
Hayes is not a toxic personality in a locker room. Teammates like him. His differences with Tortorella were hockey-related, not personal. But Tortorella had some valid criticisms about the player's consistency when it came to playing with structure and going the extra mile defensively. Even when Hayes was scoring at a point-per-game pace over the first two months of this past season, Tortorella was unhappy with his overall play. It was also clear that Hayes was one of players Tortorella had in mind by critiquing the leadership and accountability in the locker room, although the coach did not name names.
However, at a certain point, the need for subtraction as part of the rebuild has be clearly defined. Is it subtraction at all costs, meaning that the Flyers should take an even more odious version of the Shayne Gostisbehere trade or a buyout? Or is there any chance of turning the page together and trying to at least rebuild a modicum of trade value?
I'm sure that discussion has already been had among Tortorella, Danny Briere and Keith Jones. I don't know where they stand. We'll find out soon enough. As I see it, though, there's a certain point where a trade is untenable and a buyout is a different type of albatross. There are other alternatives but none are ideal: Waivers, another season of marginalization on the depth chart or trying one last time to find a way to make it work.