Flyers interested in Redden?
On Thursday, the Rangers will wipe their hands clean of Wade Redden and move on. Could the Flyers be interested?
Flyers interested in Redden?
Frank Seravalli
On Thursday, the Rangers will wipe their hands clean of Wade Redden and move on.
The much-maligned defenseman, who never lived up to a 6-year, $39 million deal signed in 2008, is expected to clear waivers around noon on Thursday. At that point, the Rangers are expected to buy out Redden from the remaining two seasons on his deal.
(Canadiens forward Scott Gomez is expected to receive a similar fate.)
The NHL originally settled on allowing each team two amnesty “compliance buyouts” for smoother transition down from a $70.2 million salary cap to a $64.3 million cap in 2013-14. They were not to take place until next summer.
Both the Rangers and Canadiens told Redden and Gomez to not report to camp. There was no NHL roster spot for them. And rather than send them to the AHL, where anything more than $900,000 now counts against the cap, teams did not want to risk injury. Injured players are not eligible for participation in the compliance buyouts.
So, the NHL and NHLPA agreed this week to allow each team to buyout one player from their roster before this shortened season.
The caveat: players bought out prior to this season will be paid their full salary for this season. Teams will also be hit with a full salary cap for this season. Players will still become free agents immediately. The buyout will essentially go into effect next season, with the team responsible for a two-thirds payment on the remaining salary, with the salary cap hit being spread out over double the term remaining.
For example:
Wade Redden - Defenseman - New York Rangers, 35 years old
Original deal: 6 years, $39 million, to expire after 2013-14 season
2012-13 salary: $5 million (prorated). 2012-13 NYR cap hit: $6.5 million
---if bought out Thursday, immediate free agent ---
2013-14 salary: $1.65 million. 2013-14 NYR cap hit: $1.65 million
2014-15 salary: $1.65 million. 2014-15 NYR cap hit: $1.65 million
---contract terminates---
Redden would become a free agent on Thursday. He can double-dip and be paid by both the Rangers and a new club for this shortened season.
Are the Flyers interested?
The Flyers are in need of defensive help. Andrej Meszaros (Achilles) may not start the season. Erik Gustafsson (ankle) and Marc-Andre Bourdon (concussion) are not healthy.
“I am of the belief that you can never have too many defensemen,” Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said last week.
Redden, 35, has been buried in the AHL for the last two seasons with the Connecticut Whale, where he collected 62 points in 119 games. He did not play during the lockout.
Redden has good hockey sense. He’s experienced, has played in the playoffs. He’s been noted as a good locker room presence. He makes a good first pass. But his foot speed is in serious question.
Amazingly, word is making its way through the rumor mill that despite his client’s lack of high-level activity, agent Don Meehan of Newport Sports will be seeking somewhere around (a prorated) $1.5 million or $2 million for this season. That’s a steep price.
I'm going to say it's unlikely to happen, give a lot of circumstances.
Had Redden become a free agent when the CBA was ratified, as opposed to now, the Flyers would be a lot more interested, according to a source.
For one, the Flyers just committed to defenseman Kurtis Foster. They signed him to a one-year, $950,000 contract on Sunday, the first day of free agency. We delved into Foster’s injury history in detail this week. If healthy, he could be an asset. But he is still a third-pairing defenseman.
The Flyers have an abundance of third-pairing defensemen: Bruno Gervais, Foster, Andreas Lilja (waived Wednesday) ... you could just as easily replace those names with Oskars Bartulis, Ryan Parent and Lukas Krajicek for fun (or indigestion).
For the Flyers, cap space isn’t an issue.
But contract space is the issue. The Flyers are currently committed to 49 contracts out of the league maximum of 50. They need to keep room for Scott Laughton, who does not currently count among the 49, since he is likely to stick with the Flyers for at least the opening weekend of the season with Danny Briere (wrist) out of the lineup.
If Laughton were to play in 6 games this season, he would not only burn 1 year of his entry-level deal, but he would also put the Flyers at the 50-contract limit.
Yes, the Flyers can make any sort of deal with another team to get rid of a contract at a moment’s notice most times. They could theoretically sign a player like Redden now, have Laughton play 5 games and then send him back to OHL Oshawa.
I get the sense now, though, that the Flyers are less interested in Redden. Particularly at that steep price.
Still, if Redden were to somehow get down to a $1 million number, or even less, I believe a number of teams would be in line for his services. The Islanders are one rumored team. Edmonton and Columbus may also be interested. The Flyers could then be in the mix.
Something to think about.
CAP CENTS: Since the Flyers will not be near the $70.2 million upper-limit for this season, I've gotten word the team is likely to leave Chris Pronger (concussion-like symptoms) and Matt Walker (hip/back) on regular injury reserve for as long as possible. Since the salary cap is calculated based on days (99 this year) and not a full season or games, each day under the salary cap (and not in LTIR mode) would bank the Flyers more space. The Flyers would move either Walker or Pronger to LTIR if necessary to make a major transaction before the April 3 trade deadline.
THE NOODLE: Carolina placed former Flyer Andreas Nodl on waivers on Wednesday. Nodl, 25, did not rack up many points (7) last season after being claimed off waivers by the Hurricanes from the Flyers.
Nodl still has strong ties to the Flyers organization. He also spent a good bit of time working out in Philadelphia toward the end of the lockout, after returning from playing in his native Austria.
Nodl, who scored 11 goals in 2010-11, never really seemed to be one of Peter Laviolette's guys. Two drawbacks on a claim: Eric Wellwood already provides a similar style of game... and the Flyers’ contract issues as explained above.
BOBBY BIG WHEEL: Local product Bobby Sanguinetti, who was born in Trenton but played a big part of his youth hockey in and around the Philadelphia/NJ metro area before moving to the OHL, finally appears to be a lock to make the Carolina Hurricanes this year.
It's been a long road for Sanguinetti, a 2006 1st rounder by the Rangers, who has tallied just 8 NHL games so far. The AHL All-Star defenseman netted 50 points in 60 games with the Carolina Checkers last season.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
"Since the salary cap is calculated based on days (99 this year) and not a full season or games, each day under the salary cap (and not in LTIR mode) would bank the Flyers more space."
I think you're confusing the readers here, Frank. A team doesn't get to use the money they didn't spend below the cap on any single day during a future day. The rule is that they can't be over their 1/99th amount (or whatever denominator is used) on any single day. The best way for readers to understand the cap is to always think about it in an annual sense. If they have $4M in cap space and add a player who has an average hit of $4.5M, they're going to be over if they don't make another move. Thinking about the daily cost is for accountants. It's been eight years since the cap was added to the NHL; time to get this right.
On Sanguinetti: I recall being very disappointed when they passed him up for some guy whom the GM couldn't even remember with the next pick. Shows what I know.— sklandog- Frank actually does have the cap space banking correct. Cap is calculated daily so this season every day whoever is on the NHL roster will have 1/99 to the teams spent cap space. So when you go to capgeek.com and see the Flyers have 2mil today or whatever in cap space they could actually add a player with a cap hit of say 2.5mil at the deadline. A team would only be in violation of the cap if the rosters remaining cap hit exceeds the team's remaining cap space. http://capgeek.com/faq/how-does-CapGeek-s-in-season-tracker-work That page explains it pretty clear.
As for LTIR I have never quite fully understood it. I think the team only gets relief if the replacement players would place the team over the cap limit. Or I could be completely wrong about that.— FatEagle - CapGeek and Frank are wrong. A team can't "bank" money not spent in any given day to use on another day. The CBA requires teams to calculate the cap daily so they don't do precisely what you, CapGeek, and Frank are claiming: spend less in less important times so they could end-load their roster down the stretch. If what you've written were correct, teams would have long ago exploited such an opportunity by adding expensive players at the deadline and pushing themselves well over the cap. The daily calculation of the cap is for front offices and accountants. All fans need to know are the average annual values.
You understand LTIR. That's how it works. A club can exceed the cap by the amount of AAV they have on LTIR, given a doctor certifies a player will miss at least 10 games due to the injury.— sklandog - Are we that desperate for defensemen that we would even consider this castoff....how bad must he be that the Rangers paying him 6 mill the last 2 years had him in the minors. Something wrong here besides his inability to play. I know the Rangers top 5 D men are all perennial All Stars but you think he could be at least a 6th D man with them....how many D men can we have that cant play is that the goal??— flyers1000
- He was in the AHL because under the old CBA his 6.5mil cap hit didn't count against the Rangers cap. If he was making half of that they probably would have kept him as the 6th defenseman. — FatEagle
- flyers1000, I think it has more to do with Redden not getting along with John Tortorella, or Tortorella just not liking Redden. Burying him in the minors is a tactic from the early days of the NHL.
They could always give him a one-game tryout contract, and if he truly stinks say bu-bye.
— backhand - The Redden example doesn't look right. How is the salary and cap hit the same in the second year? Isn't the salary higher for the second year? And the last year cap hit spread over 2 years?— P Even
Interesting that the Rangers stole Sanguinetti away from the Flyers in the 2006 draft. In desperation, the Flyers were "forced" to take Claude Giroux. Bobby Clarke forgot his name when he walked up to the podium.- Please, God, no, don't pick this guy up. The last thing we need is an overpaid statue (Kubina, anyone?).— uncle meat
- I thought the Redden numbers looked funny too, until i realized that the first year (this one) is the same so happens no matter what, and the next two counting 1.65 million each are for the NEXT 2 years.
Anyways, who would have thought you could get rewarded for sucking? He's so terrible he gets paid 6 million to not play, and then gets paid 1 or 2 million again by another team. Pfffttt... Wonder what the guy that's better but making 4 million thinks of that.— Brainiac - PASS— Breaking Bad
- I have to say I am tired of hearing about how bad the Flyers defense is. To compare Krajicek (a failed reclamation project), Bartulis (a failed prospect) and Parent (a bigger failed prospect) to Foster, Gervais and Lilja is simply unfair. All 3 are veteran depth players, but Foster and Gervais can move the puck. Both can play on the PP and Foster has a big shot. Peruse the rest of the league's 5th,6th, and 7th d-men and you will quickly see our depth and talent is superior. Once Gustafsson and Bourdon return our top 8 look like this: Timonen, Coburn, Meszaros, Grossmann, Foster, Gustafsson, Bourdon, Gervais. With that being said, does Philly need a player like Redden?— Richie Captain
- Richie captain...yes the Flyers have depth on D but if you are honest we have nothing but a bunch of 3rd line pairings or worse.....not one of the guys you mention would make the Rangers top 5 ....and then compare the goaltending differential between the 2 teams and we arent even close...Yes..maybe our 5th 6th and 7th defensemen are better then the average team thats simply because all of our defensemen are 5th-6th or 7th.— flyers1000
- "The Flyers have nothing but a bunch of of line pairings or worse."
"The Flyers are in deep trouble."
"The Flyers won't even make the playoffs."
"Bryz is a terrible goalie."
POLLY WANT A CRACKER? - Kimmo is one hit away from retirement. Mezaros is coming off a bad Achilles operation and back operation. Grossman is coming off a concussion. MAB and Gufty are both out with injuries (and are arguably the fastest D-men). Schenn is solid. Lilja is a waste with absolutely no positive stastics in his career. He's a journeyman with little talent. Gervais is a younger version of Lilja. Foster is a solid 6th guy if he can last the season at his age. I don't care about "other teams", I care about ours. Holmer is paying the price for not replacing Pronger immediatly. He got sucked into the failed sweepstakes for Weber. And they haven't drafted a top D-man who panned out in a long time (and kept them). This season will be FAST, intense, and sloppy. Last thing we need is a large, slow, flat footed group of D guys in front of Bryzg. God help us if Grossman and Coburn don't return to playoff form and eat up tons of mins. They were very good. Otherwise, it's going to be a giant gamble this season on D. Our forwards? I wouldn't trade our forward-group for any teamn in the league right now. They will DOMINATE. But seriously, they need to get IR and cap in order this year and DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT goalies and D-men.— MichaelZoe
