WHATS AHEAD? 
TFH Exclusive - One week from now, NHL franchises will be signing multi million dollar checks to eventual high named free agents.
Number crunching this offseason has been a headache for General Manager Paul Holmgren. The Flyers were forced to cut loose many casualties due to salary cap restrictions, the latest being R.J. Umberger. Umberger, who was dealt to Columbus for a 1st round pick during Fridays NHL Entry Draft, wanted more money then the Flyers could offer him. Holmgren did the best thing, although not easy, for the organization and for Umberger.
Umberger's name is now crossed off the final roster list from the middle of May when the Flyers were eliminated from the playoffs. Gone too are Vinny Prospal, Dennis Tolpeko, Sami Kapanen, and more then likely, Jason Smith, Jimmy Dowd, and Jaroslav Modry. Whether the Flyers wanted to keep those men on board or not, they did not have much of a choice. Kapanen returned to Finland to finish his career, as Tolpeko flew back to Russia. Prospal is now back with the Lightning, and Smith, Dowd, and Modry will be looking for work in a week.
Holmgren and the Flyers have about $46 million dollars tied up under the cap at the moment. During the draft, it was reported that the cap might reach above $57 million this coming year. That gives the Flyers around $11 to sign their restricted free agents as well as other possible replacements.
It has been reported that Jeff Carter and the Flyers have come to an agreement that would pay the fourth year center a total of $15 million over the next three seasons. If this is the case, it gives the Flyers $6 million dollars to sign forwards Riley Cote, Patrick Thoreson and defensemen Randy Jones and newly acquired Steve Eminger. Although those role players would not seem to make a lot, Jones leading the bunch, the Flyers would like to have some money to throw at a defensive free agent.
You can forget Brian Campbell, who is seeking around $6.5-$8 million dollars this summer. Same goes with Brad Stuart, Mark Streit, or Michal Rozsival. John-Michael Liles could be added to that list as well.
A guy who the Flyers are most likely going to target is 28-year old Ron Hainsey, who is coming off a fine season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Many questioned why Holmgren did not managed to obtain his rights in the deal with Umberger. He might be looking in the $3 million dollar range, a price the Flyers could likely fit under their cap. Another possible name could be Paul Mara, who goes under the radar most of the time, unless he is dealing with Evgeni "Slew-Foot" Malkin. Jeff Finger's name has come up quite a few times about a possible Flyer's signing. Chances are, the Flyers will only have enough dough to sign one of these guys.
A big roadblock in the Flyers quest to sign a solid defensive free agent is the salary that belongs to handicapped defenseman Derian Hatcher. When healthy, Hatcher is one of the Flyers' best penalty killers, but Hatcher is simply not healthy anymore. Both his knees are in horrible condition, and he is more of a liability when on the ice.
Hatcher's cap hit is $3.5 million thanks to Bobby Clarke's loss of time back in 2003, when he thought he was getting the 1999 Stanley Cup Winning Captain Hatcher via free agency. If Hatcher were to retire, that would free up that $3.5 and give the Flyers an opportunity to sign a big name, and have wiggle room in case of an emergency.
The Flyers defense can only improve from a year ago, a year that the Flyers offense carried the team to the Eastern Conference Finals. It's going to be interesting to see how Paul Holmgren deals with this coming summer, especially in one week.
You be the G.M.
Right now, the Flyers have about $45.589 tied up under the cap. If Jeff Carter signs the reported deal, the Flyer's cap will be about $50.589, giving the team a little less then $7 million to sign the following players:
C - Patrick Thoreson RFA
LW - Riley Cote RFA
D - Randy Jones RFA
D - Steve Eminger RFA
Eminger and Jones are a lock to be signed I believe. Jones made a little over half million last year, and played well with an increased role in the team. He had a great start to the year before being suspended, which seemed to demoralize his confidence. However, the Flyers defense was so poor, that Jones might have been their best defenseman behind Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn. I believe Jones is in line for about a three-four year deal worth close to $1 million per year. Easy cap hit, and would increase the cap to
$51.589.
Eminger is a question mark. He made $1 million last season while only appearing in about 20 regular season games and scoring only two points. The Flyers hope he has an untapped potential and will likely sign him at maybe a little over a million, but the cap shouldn't jump that much, as it will raise to
$52.7.
Cote and Thoreson would only make like $1.5 combined, raising the Flyer's cap to
$54.2, giving the Flyers a little under $3 million to throw at a free agent.
You can see how Hatcher's $3.5 makes a significant difference.
2009 Summer Look-A-Head
Next summer will be a lot less stressful for Holmgren. The Flyers Unrestricted Free Agents are forward Mike Knuble, and defensemen Derian Hatcher, Denis Gauthier, and Lasse Kukkonen. Knuble might not make it through the season, as his name came up in trade talks throughout the past season. Hatcher may retire this year, and even if he doesn't, the Flyers won't resign him next year. Denis Gauthier is going to fight for a spot on the big club this year, but it is doubtful he will make it. Kukkonen is most likely the Flyers #6-7 defender right now, so it will be interesting to see how he plays this coming season.
Both goaltenders, Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki, are both set to be become unrestricted free agents next year. Unless he falls apart completely in 08-09, Biron will likely be resigned. Niittymaki could become more interesting, as he did lead Finland to the Silver Medal in 2006, and has shown signs of stater material. He might feel like he can start somewhere else, and could jump ship forcing the Flyers to sign a veteran backup.
Restricted wise, the Flyers two biggest names to lock up would be Joffery Lupul and Scottie Upshall. Both of the players names also came up this past year in the trade winds, so they might not be a Flyer come July 1st, 2009.
vCash:
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POST-SEASON HIVE: A Year of Many Positives (Part 3) 
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