Reexamining the Flyers space after the salary cap increase

As the cap continues to rise over the next few years, teams around the league will have more space to work with. They were given good news recently as the projected cap ceiling for next season will be 88M, 4.5M higher than the previous season. For a team like the Flyers, that is great news.

As it stands, the Flyers have just over 803.5K in cap space. That is before accounting for Ryan Ellis on LTIR. That number jumps to just over 7M. There is a chance Ryan Johansen could be placed on LTIR as well. That would then give the Flyers over 11M to work with.

Flyers have the cap space, but aren't expected to spend big

They don't have many free agents to worry about. Denis Gurianov and Marc Staal are not expected to return. That leaves Yegor Zamula and Erik Johnson on the NHL roster. Nine players in the minor leagues are up for new deals. Bobby Brink, Adam Brooks, Tanner Laczynski, and Cooper Marody are the forwards. Adam Ginning, Mason Millman, Will Zmolek, and Victor Mete are the defesemen. And Felix Sandstrom is the loan goaltender.

There is also the issue of Carter Hart, a much more complicated issue. The NHL is waiting for guidance on whether or not teams will have to give qualifying offers to players involved in the Hockey Canada scandal. It would be hard to see the Flyers bringing Hart back regardless of the decision.

It is safe to say that Zamula and Brink will be re-signed. Both have arbitration rights, but it is unlikely they have big enough cases to ask for substantial raises. There is interest in bringing back Ginning as he looked the part of an NHL defenseman in his short stint with the Flyers. Philadelphia has also shown interest in bringing back Johnson as well. With Rasmus Ristolainen and Jamie Drysdale expected to be healthy for training camp, that's seven defensemen fighting for spots. And that doesn't include players like Emil Andrae and Helge Grans.

Laczynski is likely to head for free agency as a change of scenery would be good for him. Mete will probably do the same. It has been reported that the Flyers would like to bring Marody back. Millman, Zmolek, and Brooks could come back on cheap deals, but it wouldn't hurt the organization to see them go. Sandstrom has also likely come to the end of his time in Philadelphia. Ivan Fedotov and Sam Ersson are expected to lead the NHL squad. Alexei Kolosov should get the bulk of games in the AHL, while Cal Petersen would remain with the Phantoms. He could be bought out, but it wouldn't make much sense to do so with one year remaining on his deal.

The Flyers aren't expected to have an exciting summer. Getting out from under the dead money is the most important part. Kevin Hayes' retained salary is on the books for two more seasons while Tony DeAngelo has another year on his buyout. The harder decisions will come next season, including Travis Konecny's impending free agency.

For now, the Flyers could have upwards of 11M to work with. But it's likely going to be given to players already in the organization. Unless the team moves money out, they won't bring much in.