Over at our Flyers blog, Broad Street Hockey, they're reacting to today's trade of Ryan Parent to Nashville for the rights to Dan Hamhuis. There's a lot still to be written on the transaction front this summer for Philadelphia, they say.
So, if the Flyers are to sign Dan Hamhuis, what does that mean for the salary cap? Well, it's expected that Hamhuis wants about $4 million-plus, and if that's the case, the Flyers are going to be very close to the salary cap. Braydon Coburn needs a new contract this summer, so what does this deal mean for him?
Well, when you assume that the Flyers are going to have to re-sign guys like Dan Carcillo, Arron Asham and Darroll Powe (maybe not the same exact guys, but they'll need to hand out contracts worth the same amount of money), in addition to finding a starting goaltender and re-upping Coburn, it looks like they're going to be very, very close to the cap (if not over it) when all is said and done.
The deal could mean a few things, then.
- Coburn could be left unsigned. Hamhuis would then replace him, and well, despite Coburn's resurgence in the postseason, that'd be a nice trade off. He's a restricted free agent, so the Flyers would get some compensation.
- Another trade could be in the works. The Flyers could be attempting to move an expensive forward, someone like Jeff Carter or Scott Hartnell, perhaps. The deals might not be done just yet, and if that is the case, well... we can't predict that at all, obviously.
The Flyers just won't sign Hamhuis, and if that happens, they're still getting a seventh round pick for Parent. Some people (hey, Ben) would be just fine with that, too.