1) There is little reason to doubt that the Flyers and Brayden Schenn will eventually come to terms on a long-term contract extension. Some negotiations are easier than others. Both sides have a bit of leverage here, which means that there will need to be some compromise.
The Flyers' leverage is that Schenn cannot become an unrestricted free agent until the summer of 2018. The 24-year-old has played five NHL season (he previously had one-game and eight-game stints with LA before he was traded to the Flyers but that fell within the slide rule that does not burn an entry-level contract season). The threshold for unrestricted free agency is age 27 or seven NHL seasons.
The Schenn camp's leverage is that if he goes to arbitration and plays on a one-year deal, the price tag on a multi-year extension that preempts his UFA eligibility could shoot way higher than it would if a long-term deal is not done this offseason.
It would be pleasant surprise if a deal is done soon but the prediction here is that is gets done shortly before a potential arbitration hearing, and that it will be a three-year deal, preempting one season of unrestricted free agency. As far as cap hit goes, anything that involves giving up a UFA year is probably going to push the cap hit (currently $2.5 million) somewhere in the $4.5 million to $4.75 million range.
A new contract will be one based more speculating future performance than paying based on what he's done to date. However, it helps Schenn that he's coming off a career year, already has two 20-goal NHL seasons to his credit and has the versatility to play all three forward positions.
2) One of the best pure scorers available in the 2016 NHL Draft -- potentially even in the Flyers' 18th overall range -- is USNTDP left winger Kieffer Bellows. At 6-foot, 196 pounds, he is not huge but has good strength and power. Bellows is willing to shoot from all angles but can also dish the puck to an open teammate, and is an aggressive forechecker with a physical element to his game.
He should not be judged based upon comparisons his father, longtime NHL player Brian Bellows (who played 1,188 NHL games, scored 485 goals and compiled 1,022 points). The similarities are in terms of body type and offensive instincts.
The younger Bellows is committed to play collegiate hockey at Boston University in 2016-17.
3) Congratulations to Flyers Hall of Fame right winger Reggie Leach. In addition to recently being selected to receive the Order of Manitoba award, his autobiography, "The Riverton Rifle", was the number two national bestseller on the Canadian non-fiction list according to the Globe and Mail's May 28th list.
Leach has been working very hard promoting the book ever since its release, and it is nice to see that the efforts have paid off. His life story is an inspirational one.
