Flyers look as if they're ready to go after Stamkos
LAST THURSDAY, Jeff Carter was sent packing as a salary-cap casualty.
Best friend and captain Mike Richards went only 30 minutes after him, in a move that also – at least temporarily – cleared valuable cap space.
Yesterday, the Flyers dealt the rights to restricted free-agent center Darroll Powe to Minnesota in exchange for a 2013 third-round pick. Powe, a heart-and-soul-type player whom Paul Holmgren called “one of the most underrated players in the league” in May, wasn’t asking for an exorbitant sum of money.
Powe earned $725,000 last season. He probably was looking for a raise to somewhere in the $1 million neighborhood. Nothing earth-shattering.
Earlier in the day, Holmgren announced that the Flyers had come to a new, 2-year agreement with fellow restricted free agent Andreas Nodl for $845,000 per year. That’s interesting, because it’s a $5,000 pay cut from what Nodl earned last year, despite finishing his first full NHL season with 22 points.
Holmgren finished off the day by not extending a qualifying offer to restricted free-agent forward Dan Carcillo, meaning Carcillo will become an unrestricted free agent on Friday.
Notice a trend? Something doesn’t add up.
The Flyers, who have plenty of wiggle room now, with Richards and Carter off the books, are stockpiling money. And it doesn’t mean that they won’t spend to the gills this year.
Holmgren got incredible value for a player he didn’t think was worth the money he was asking for with a third-round pick, but since when is one of the “most underrated players in the league” suddenly not worth an extra $300K or $400K?
Carcillo’s qualifying offer wouldn’t have needed to be much more than a slight raise.