Jones missed the first half of the 2008-09 season with a hip injury sustained in preseason. (Image Credits: Neat1325)
Yesterday the Flyers made possibly one of the most under-the-radar moves of their entire offseason when they traded defensive prospect Patrick Hersley to the Nashville Predators for future considerations. Oddly enough that move has a variety of important implications for the 2009-10 Flyers’ roster.
Once upon a time there was a defenseman named Dennis Gauthier who was a decent bottom pairing blueliner for the Flyers. Because of his salary cap hit he was waived to the Philadelphia Phantoms. The cheap defenseman that took Gauthier’s spot on the Flyers’ roster just happened to be the young Randy Jones. Eventually the Flyers dumped Gauthier, along with a 2nd round pick, to the Los Angeles Kings for a low-grade defensive prospect named Patrik Hersley.
Hersley was not very thrilled this offseason and decided to ignore the rest of his contract with the Flyers. He signed in the Swedish Elite League. Since the Flyers don’t necessarily need Hersley, and since he has vanished for the SEL, he was an easy choice to move. He was traded to the Predators for “future considerations.” Those considerations could of course be anything, but that doesn’t matter. Since he is playing in Europe, Nashville doesn’t have to pay his salary and the Flyers have one more contract slot open under the 50-contract limit.
Though it has not been admitted yet, everyone knows that this means a contract for penalty-kill specialist Blair Betts. This is a move that was nearly inevitable from the time Betts came into camp. The fact that he performed during the preseason only cemented his future contract with the orange and black. Personally I’m excited to see him work the PK for the Flyers in 2009-10. That’s less energy spent by Richards or Carter centering the kill when they could be focusing on even strength and powerplay minutes.
There’s also another ironic twist in this entire mess. Though it has not been made official just yet, Randy Jones could find himself waived before the start of the preseason. This of course means the Flyers would still have to pay his $3.00 million salary, but his $2.70 million in cap hit would be off the books. Any cap space the Flyers can get is helpful at this point.
It’s also not as if Jones was earning his contract. Many thought it was too high a price-tag for the often defensively irresponsible puck-mover when the contract was originally signed. Then, when he came back from an injury suffered in the 2008-09 preseason, Jones became even more of a liability defensively and had lost most of his offensive upside.
After yet another surgery Jones has declared this preseason that he feels much better. Coach Stevens and GM Holmgren have other opinions of his play though. Prospect Danny Syvret and recent acquisition Ole-Kristian Tollefsen have performed very well in comparison throughout camp. This means that Gauthier’s replacement could be receiving the Gauthier treatment himself before opening night on October 2nd.
Though the Flyers could realistically keep Jones’ salary in the lineup and stay under the cap, if Syvret was playing anywhere near Jones’ level it just wouldn’t be practical to keep the expensive liability in the lineup. That’s not to say that Syvret is any better. He has appeared slightly better in camp though, and of course, is far cheaper.
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: Possible Lineup
* denotes ELC without bonuses included since bonuses will only count on 2010-11 cap
** denotes possible estimated contract salary
bold denotes players likely locked for full time roster duty
With Jones:
Gagne ($5.25) – Richards ($5.75) – Powe ($0.52)
Hartnell ($4.20) – Carter ($5.00) – Pyorala ($0.50)
*vanRiemsdyk ($0.88) – Giroux ($0.82) – Briere ($6.50)
Asham ($0.64) – **Betts ($0.60) – Laperriere ($1.16)
Carcillo ($0.89)Timonen ($6.33) – Coburn ($1.30)
Pronger ($6.25) – Carle ($3.44)
Parent ($0.86) – Jones ($2.70)
Tollefsen ($0.60)Emery ($1.50) – Boucher ($0.93)
TOTAL PLAYERS: 22
TOTAL CAP HIT: $56.62
SALARY CAP: $56.80
SPACE LEFT: $0.18
Without Jones
Gagne ($5.25) – Richards ($5.75) – Kaspar ($0.50)
Hartnell ($4.20) – Carter ($5.00) – Pyorala ($0.50)
*vanRiemsdyk ($0.88) – Giroux ($0.82) – Briere ($6.50)
Powe ($0.52) – **Betts ($0.60) – Laperriere ($1.16)
Carcillo ($0.89) – Asham ($0.64)Timonen ($6.33) – Coburn ($1.30)
Pronger ($6.25) – Carle ($3.44)
Parent ($0.86) – Syvret ($0.56)
Tollefsen ($0.60)Emery ($1.50) – Boucher ($0.93)
TOTAL PLAYERS: 23
TOTAL CAP HIT: $54.98
SALARY CAP: $56.80
SPACE LEFT: $1.82
These numbers are very important. Without Jones the Flyers have plenty of buffer space in case of injury. If anyone remembers the chaos that injuries created last season with Briere in the AHL, followed by Giroux in the AHL, followed by Upshall being traded, and then David Sloane playing against the Rangers on a one-game contract, then you should appreciate what a safety net cap space can be.
On top of all that protection against cap chaos caused by injury, the Flyers’ roster without Jones could cause quite a few bars, liquor stores, and aspirin suppliers to go out of business.
These lineups though could just be wishful thinking if Stevens really does intend to keep Riley Cote on the roster.
The Flyers play the Devils at home tonight and then drive up 95 to the Rock on Saturday to play the Devils again. The Jones situation is one worth following.
Loading ...