Can a Higher Salary Cap Fix the Flyers?

The NHL’s salary cap is currently at $82.5 million. Next year, it looks as if it will be raised to $83.5 million, but some analysts suggest that it could raise by as much a $4.5 million, which would play the new cap total at $87 million. That’s quite a large increase. Now there is a whole lot of financial mumbo-jumbo involved there. If you understand all of that, read the above article. But either way, the salary cap could increase from $1 million to almost $5 million.

So, now we ask the question…can that fix the Flyers?  Well, yes and no.

If you go to CapFriendly, they can break down the Flyers financial woes to you. Right now, the Flyers are over the cap, but they are getting a touch of relief with Ryan Ellis on LTIR. His $6.25 million cap hit does not affect the team right now.

But on injured reserve, Sean Couturier counts for $7.75 million, Cam Atkinson is $5.875 million and Travis Konecny carries $5.5 million. That’s close $20 million in those three players who are currently unavailable to the team.

We don’t know what the future holds for Atkinson and Ellis. Couturier and Konecny have recently been skating and there is optimism they may return next year, if not this season.

After that, what free agents are coming off the books? Justin Braun and his $1 million salary are gone. Most likely, we’ll see James van Riemsdyk’s $7 million paycheck gone. Kieffer Bellows might not return and carries a $1.2 million price tag. It seems unlikely that Brendan Lemieux and his $1.35 million paycheck will be around. Between those four, that’s another $10 million.

So, $10 million in savings plus another $1-5 million should help us out? Right? Maybe.

It depends on if the Flyers extend any RFA’s. Are there any rookie contracts that need extending? Then we have to look at what players are on the market and who the Flyers can reasonably afford. Then we also have other bloated salaries on offense and defense. If any of these guys are traded, will the Flyers have to retain any salary?

The future is yet to be determined. As of now, we need to wait and hope for the best. If some of the players on higher priced contracts perform better, then those contracts are worth it. It might be hard to lure a good free agent here while the team is in a rebuild/retool/refurbish. But if the right piece can be added and players continue to develop in a positive way…who knows. Maybe the salary cap won’t be hindering us any further.