Philadelphia Flyers: A look ahead to possible offseason target: TJ Oshie

I know its March 18th, but it’s never too early for the Philadelphia Flyers to look ahead.

It’s no secret the Philadelphia Flyers have struggled to score this season, and are in need of Top 6 depth and offensive production. Luckily enough there’s such a player set to hit the market, T.J. Oshie.

Oshie,a natural right winger, is entering free agency at age 30. He’s still in  his prime, coming off four offensively predictive years that saw him score 50 or more points  including more than 25 goals in his last two seasons.

"“Plays much bigger than his 5-11 frame would indicate and with an ‘in-your-face’ swagger. Has two-way savvy, scoring prowess and the versatility to play in all situations. Is adept at the open-ice hit, too.- forecaster/ The hockey news.com"

Oshie is what the Philadelphia Flyers are in need of, a scoring winger that also brings physicality. Claude Giroux has played his best hockey with goal scoring physical wingers such as,Scott Hartnell, Jagr, Simmonds and Van Riemsdyk.

Connection to Dave Hakstol

TJ Oshie has connections to Flyers Head Coach, Dave Hakstol, playing three seasons under him in North Dakota for the Fighting Sioux.

Cap Space

Will the Flyers have cap space to add Oshie to the fold? “Flyers Nerd” did a projection on what the Flyers cap could look like this offseason. ( Make sure to give him a follow on twitter).

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what is going happen in March.  What is going to happen with the Flyers cap situation in the offseason, especially in an expansion draft year.

Let’s assume that the Flyers let Nick Schultz, Michael Del Zotto, and Steve Mason l leave via free agency. Let’s also assume they resign Gostisbehere, Cousin, Weal, and Stolarz.

The Flyers’ cap space looks to be about $6 million, but then you need to factor in who Las Vegas selects.  The common names in the mix are: Matt Read ($3.625 million)and Raffl ($2.350 million). These player losses would bump the available cap space to $8-9 million.

Philadelphia Flyers

What if Ron Hextall can pull off a deal sending a pick or prospect to Vegas in order for them to select Andrew McDonald? Thus saving the Flyers $5 million over the next three seasons, bumping the Flyers’ cap space up to 10 million?

The cap situation looks better in  the coming years as  Filppula and Reads deals come to an end the season after next, clearing $8.65 million up front.

Potential Contract

To get an idea of what Oshie’s might get paid, look at Andrew Ladd, who is also 30 years old and makes $5.5 million over 7 years.  When negotiating that deal  Ladd was coming off a 23 goal season. Oshie has already surpassed that total.Loui Eriksson was also 30 years old and got  $6 million over  6 years. He also scored 24 goals; Oshie has already surpassed that total also. Although goal scoring isn’t everything, offensive players get paid well league wide.  In Philadelphia , top scoring duo, Giroux and Voracek, each make $8 million.

Oshie will be looking for something in the 7 year, $7million ballpark. It will be tight, but if General Manager, Ron Hextall, and Coach, Dave Hakstol, can bring Oshie to Philadelphia by making the numbers work, they will have  the talented top 6 the organization needs.

Will it happen?

Ron Hextall has been cited as saying that July 1st is his least favorite day of the year. I understand why overpaying players is a dangerous thing. It handcuffed  organizations in the past.  Rarely do you see a team win free agency and the Stanley Cup. The goal under Ron Hextall is building through the draft and prospect development.

We’ll see what happens with Oshie. The connection to Dave Hakstol and the need for a goal scoring winger could potentially lead to a  deal.