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Free Agency: A "Reverse Kotkaniemi"? |
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Quick Hits: July 13, 2022
1) I am on the record in saying that I do not believe the Flyers' long-term interests are best served by tying themselves into any long-term deals right now and that cap space, an emphasis on asset management and giving some of the younger players in the organization an extended opportunity to take on bigger roles at the NHL level should be the more immediate steps. I believe there's a time to make a bold move to try to add a big-ticket player at the necessary cost, but that the time isn't now because there are so many other question marks and limited cap dollars.
That said, I also realize these three things:
* I'm not held accountable for selling tickets at the Wells Fargo Center. From the marketing and fan engagement sides, bringing in a marquee player would raise interest.
* The hiring of John Tortorella, the trade acquisition of Tony DeAngelo and the two-year, $5 million AAV contract to which he was signed, and the buyout of Oskar Lindblom, all line up with the types of actions a team looking for an immediate jolt would undertake. If you are going to go all-in, it can't be done halfway. Many fans' hopes have been raised by the prospect of adding Johnny Gaudreau at any cost.
* From all indications both from discussions with contacts and from reputable pundits have put out, Gaudreau's legitimate first preference is to play for the Flyers; the team he grew up rooting for as a child, and the franchise is the closest NHL franchise to where both to his immediate family and his wife's immediate family still live. That doesn't mean he would not play for the New Jersey Devils or New York Islanders but, all things being equal, Philadelphia would be his top preference.
So how does that get done? According to Elliotte Friedman, it sounds as if the price tag to unload James van Riemsdyk's contract for the full $7 million of cap space would force Chuck Fletcher to trade the team's first-round pick in the stacked 2023 Draft; potentially a top-end pick even if Gaudreau were on the team. That's a non-starter for Fletcher; and, frankly, it should be a non-starter.
On the other hand, it would be a tough PR blow to take for Gaudreau to sign with the Devils (or Islanders) especially right after the Penguins somehow managed to keep everyone they wanted in house and for the Flyers to opt for a Plan B approach of lesser-name (but more cap-friendly and much shorter-term) signings. Is there a way to do it without trading the 2023 first-rounder?
Possibly, but some of the options are not too palatable, either. To me, it's one thing to trade players like Travis Konecny in a hockey trade where there's some value coming back. It's quite another to trade off players in their mid-20s who are under relatively cost-controlled contracts for several more years to come. I flat out don't think the Flyers are in position to trade Ivan Provorov in particular unless there's another big-minutes defenseman in his early-to-mid 20s coming back; but that's a separate consideration, and not one geared primarily toward opening cap space.
There is one other route I can think of but it would require Gaudreau and his agent, Lewis Gross, to take a leap of faith. Basically, it'd be a "reverse Kotkaniemi" deal. The player would sign a one-year contract with the Flyers and then at some point before the end of the 2022-23 season, hammering out an extension (he'd be eligible for up to a maximum eight additional seasons). The difference from Jesperi Kotkaniemi's arrangement with Carolina would be that the one-year deal would be the one with the lower cap hit -- and, hence, easier for the Flyers to fit within the cap -- and the second one would be higher.
Considering that Gaudreau will turn 29 on Aug. 13 this year, and any long-term deal will take him into his latter 30s (especially the aforementioned 1+7 or 1+8 "Kotkaniemi-type" structure), I think it could lead to a lot of pain down the road. But if both sides have their hearts set on each other, it could be a way of getting it done without having to part with the 2023 first-round pick.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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