On the Philadelphia Flyers …
Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: With Vincent Lecavalier about to retire, it will give the Flyers an extra $2.25 million in salary cap space. The extra cap space will help them bring in a top-six forward from the free agent market.
The Flyers are fine with retaining both Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth next season. Both will be UFAs after next season.
With the way Neuvirth played in the regular season and playoffs, his trade value may never be higher. If GM Ron Hextall is able trade Neuvirth for a top-line scorer, he should at least consider.
Unless the Flyers able to clear ton of cap space, don’t expect Steven Stamkos to be in a Flyer uniform next season.
Cheaper free agents that will still require the clearing of some cap space include David Backes, Kyle Okposo, Milan Lucic, Andrew Ladd, Loui Eriksson, Eric Staal, and Mikkel Boedker.
They currently have about $12.3 million in cap space, possibly up to $15.3 million if they buy out R.J. Umberger. If they add Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov, they could be at $13.5 million.
The Flyers could gain some extra cap space if they are able to trade Mark Streit (a $5.25 million cap hit) or Matt Read (a $3.625 million cap hit).
Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer: The Flyers have lots of highly regarded defensemen prospects. After this season, it’s clear the Flyers need to add and get more offense from their forwards. Another sniper or two would definitely help.
Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: The Flyers wish list heading into the offseason.
Center – don’t count on Steven Stamkos. David Backes would be interesting as he can play both center and winger. If played at center, they could have Claude Giroux, Backes and Sean Couturier down the middle.
Right Wing – Travis Konecny could be ready next season. Pending UFA Kyle Okposo could be an option, though fitting his cap hit in wouldn’t be easy.
Left Wing – Brayden Schenn is their only threat on the left side. Milan Lucic and Loui Eriksson would be good fits.
Defense – The Flyers will try to trade Mark Streit this offseason.