With the deadline for players and teams to file arbitration passing, the Flyers still have some work to do with Cam York. York is the only RFA remaining on the Flyers after they did not extend qualifying offers to Jakob Pelletier, Elliot Desnoyers, and Zayde Wisdom.
Philadelphia has $5.5 million in cap space. And that's without putting Ryan Ellis on LTIR or the savings they'll get from sending Ivan Fedotov to the AHL. The first is unlikely to happen as the Flyers want to accrue as much cap savings as they can throughout the year. The second has been a heavy rumor and, at this point, is expected to happen. It would take $1.15 million off the books.
York is coming off a two-year contract that had a $1.6 million cap hit. While he is expected to get a raise, the Flyers should have some space left after a deal is made. He will not be a UFA until the 2028-29 season, so the Flyers might want to try and buy a year or two of his free agency. Similar to the four-year deal they gave to Noah Cates.
Not much has come out about negotiations between the two sides. Only that things appear to be going well and that they may be close to a deal. But we're now into the first week of July, and that's all there has been. Now, there wasn't much on either Cates' deal or Tyson Foerster's. So that doesn't mean all is bad.
But, with the major parts of free agency past, it is curious that a deal hasn't been reached. Ideally, the Flyers probably would've liked to have known beforehand so they knew exactly how much they had to spend. Not that they were expected to be major players, but having York's contract on the books would've given them a more accurate number.
Without arbitration, there is no "deadline" on when the two sides need to come to a deal. They need one before the season starts, but it doesn't put pressure on either side. Arbitration hearings happen in late July and early August. That would've given the two a few weeks to agree, or risk a neutral party doing so.
Arbitration can also sour a relationship between a player and a team depending on the outcome. Considering the team is arguing against paying a player what he feels is deserved, the latter can develop resentment. That's not to say it would happen in this case, but York and the Flyers avoid finding out.
Not electing that route could signify that the two sides are indeed close on a new deal and don't feel the need to bring another party into the mix. And that would be a good sign. Who knows, the Flyers could come out of the holiday weekend and announce a new deal for York.
This does leave the door open for an offer sheet, however. No team has tried one thus far, despite rumors that teams could try it after the Blues success stories last year. But now that some of the top options have elected arbitration, York could be their next best option.
If a team were genuinely trying to pry York from the Flyers, an offer sheet ranging from $4,680,077 - $7,020,113 would be their best bet. A team can be 10% over the cap in the offseason, but the Flyers would have some work to do to become compliant if they matched. That's not to say they wouldn't match, but it wouldn't be as simple as the tier below this ($2,340,038 - $4,680,076).
If York were to sign, the Flyers could receive a first-round pick and a third-round pick if they don't match. The team offering must own the picks they'd have to give up. 18 other teams have the picks to do it, though that's not saying any of them would. Something noteworthy is that a player cannot be traded in the first year if the team matches.
The hold-up may be about the years. York may want to take a short-term deal that leads him into free agency so he can cash in on the cap spike. And as mentioned above, the Flyers are likely to want one, if not two, of York's unrestricted years. But we cannot say for sure without direct quotes from either side.
All we know is that there won't be arbitration. And hopefully that's a sign of good things to come.