An Outlandish Expansion Draft Strategy For the Flyers
The prospect of Fletcher wheeling and dealing got me thinking. It would be crazy not to protect Voracek, right? But I could not shake the thought. It turns our covid lockdowns, Chuck Fletchers expansion record, and the salary cap to take me to some strange corners of my mind.
While Voracek is insanely talented, it has never quite translated completely into commensurate production. In 2014 Jake looked a lot like David Pasternak does now. But we only got one year of this kind of dominance. Jake has been a solid and consistent contributor for years, but with his kind of talent, it seemed to me he could have been more of a force on offense. I thought he would make a permanent jump from really good to great. That has never happened.
Jake is not an elite player but is being paid like one. As of writing this piece Voracek will count $8,250,000 against the cap until the 2023-2024 season and has the 34th highest AAV in the league. Voracek is thirty-one years old and at this point in his career it is unlikely he will make the jump back to greatness. With Sanheim, Hart, Couturier and potentially Myers needing contracts in the coming years, the Flyers could put the money dedicated to Voracek to good use on the young core of defensemen.
The Seattle Kraken, who would have minimal concerns when it comes to the salary cap, could be tempted to take a player of Voracek’s skill level. Would it be enough to divert attention from Gostisbehere? It probably could be. Gostisbehere is the asset that would be more liquid, easier to trade, given his salary/performance ratio. He is also more likely to increase in trade value. But Jake is a proven NHL top-line player and would be an immediate core piece for the Kraken. Don’t think that the Kraken won’t feel pressure to duplicate the success that Vegas had. Voracek would bring much more certainty to the roster than Gostisbehere.
The most important thing to evaluate in this strategy is how it affects the Flyers on the ice. Assuming that Voracek plays as well as he did this season, which was his best effort in years, do the Flyers have anyone who could replace him. Jake is a very good playmaker, a monster along the wall when he is so inclined. He is also a skilled in open ice and has very good speed. His combination of size and strength and skill is unmatched on the current roster.
Unfortunately, there is not an obvious Voracek replacement in the prospect pipeline. Morgan Frost, Bobby Brink, German Rubtsov, Isaac Ratcliffe and Tyson Foerster all lack Jake’s talent and versatility. The Flyers would certainly take a step back if Voracek, as he plays today, is not on the roster. But the question has to be asked beyond this season. With a really good young nucleus, especially on defense and in goal, is it possible that in two seasons that a diminished Voracek, and his high salary will become an anchor and impediment to success? I think it is a distinct possibility, and perhaps the Flyers could use expansion as a way to proactively solve a problem rather than create and compound new ones.