CBA 101: Mailbag questions while you’re stuck inside

By Kevin Christmann
Posted on 10/29/2012 at 1:00 pm

Is anyone reading this? Does anyone have power? Is the world over? Hurricane Sandy is here after all, and we are quickly approaching the end of the world on December 21, 2012. If you didn’t see our Tim McManus’ article last week on mailbags, you should definitely check it out. With that said, it’s time for some mailbag questions of my own! From reader Mike Tomon, “Why do I see a cap hit of $100,000 for Oskars Bartulis for the Flyers?”. This is good question Mike, and one I expect other fans will wonder if/when we ever have hockey again and …

Then and Now: Lukas Krajicek

By Craig F
Posted on 09/26/2012 at 9:00 am

In the middle of the 2009-2010 season, it didn’t look likely that Lukas Krajicek would be playing hockey in the NHL anytime soon let alone play in the Stanley Cup Finals. That’s exactly what happened though after the Tampa Bay Lightning terminated his contract in late January of 2010, which allowed him to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers shortly after. In his second season with Tampa Bay’s organization, Krajicek had an assist, 21 PIMs, and a minus-4 rating in 23 games. He also had six assists in 15 games for Tampa’s AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, before he was dumped by the franchise. …

CBA 101: No-trade and no-movement clauses

By Kevin Christmann
Posted on 08/20/2012 at 1:00 pm

The standard player contract (SPC) of a Group 3 unrestricted free agent can contain a specific clause which prevents the player from being involuntarily moved from their current team. There are two types of clauses, the no-trade clause and the no-movement clause. As you might imagine, the no-trade clause prevents a player from being traded to another team without their express permission. A no-movement clause not only prevents the player from being traded, but also prevents their relocation by loan or waivers as well. So a player with a no-movement clause could not be sent down to the AHL without agreeing (which, …

CBA 101: Contract Buy-outs

By Kevin Christmann
Posted on 08/06/2012 at 1:00 pm

There are a limited number of ways that a team is able to get out of a contract given to one of their players. One such way is to buy out the contract, which relieves of the team of their contractual obligation to the player, but does still result in “dead cap space” which is essentially cap space being used on a player that isn’t with the club. Typically, a team would exercise a buy out in order to get out of a bad contract in order to see some cap relief, much like the New York Islanders with Alexei …

Minor League Update: 4/2-4/8

By Craig F
Posted on 04/09/2012 at 9:00 am

With one week left in the AHL regular season, the Phantoms find themselves within reach of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Adirondack sits in 10th with 76 points, which is one less than both the eighth place Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate) and ninth place Portland Pirates (Phoenix Coyotes). The Monarchs have a Game in Hand over both the Phantoms and Pirates, as Adirondack finishes the 2011-2012 season with a pair of home games. To start the week, the Phantoms beat the Albany Devils (New Jersey) 3-2 on Friday in Adirondack. As they entered …

On fighting, defense, and more

By Marcello De Feo
Posted on 02/08/2012 at 11:00 am

Hartnell (drop ‘em) down Over the previous four seasons, Scott Hartnell had a combined 26 fights. This season, he has one. That is it. One. While that is admirable, it is important that he maintain his edge. The way he drops the gloves to energize the team or to protect his teammate(s) is integral to the success of the Flyers. His newfound scoring touch and chemistry on the top line is great but there needs to be more to his game right now. The team is struggling to churn out consecutive wins and someone needs to breathe more life into …

A minor proposal

By Marcello De Feo
Posted on 10/11/2011 at 4:37 pm

If all goes according to plan, the Flyers may very well have top prospects Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, and Matt Read on the big club for the 2012 season. This might be a promising sign for the Flyers but it certainly impacts the depth of their AHL affiliate Adirondack Phantoms. Without Schenn and Read (Couturier is too young to play in the AHL), the Phantoms would be paper thing down the middle and lacking on offense. Certainly, the Phantoms are off to a promising start with a 6-3 win in their season opener but this is also a team that …

Future Flyers Weekly Report

By penaltykiller
Posted on 10/10/2011 at 12:32 pm

The Future Flyers Weekly Report follows the weekly progress of Flyers prospects playing in the various leagues throughout North America. Forwards: The Phantoms kicked off their season this week with a 6-3 win against the Connecticut Whale. Many forward prospects contributing with the scoring. Flyers top prospect, Brayden Schenn, contributed with a couple of assists and was named the second star of the match. Mike Testwuide also chipped in with two points, finishing with a goal and an assist. Luke Pither and Eric Wellwood each scored their first goal of the season. Shane Harper also contributed with an assist. Nick …

Flyers waive three, some thoughts

By Marcello De Feo
Posted on 10/04/2011 at 1:44 pm

TSN confirms that the Flyers placed forward Blair Betts and defensemen Matt Walker and Oskars Bartulis on waivers today. Paul Holmgren confirmed that Brayden Schenn was sent to the Phantoms as well. Cap reasons aside, there’s no reason to rush Schenn. Giving him some time in the AHL where he can play more minutes per game until he completely dominates the league is a worthwhile decision for such a precious investment. It worked wonders for Claude Giroux and should do the same for Schenn. It’s a surprise to see Betts waived, as his $700k salary made him the most affordable …

Discussing the slump

By Marcello De Feo
Posted on 03/06/2011 at 10:00 am

Last night, ProHockeyTalk published three reasons why the Flyers are struggling. Quickly summed up, they believe the Flyers aren’t desperate enough, the scoring has dried up, and the team can’t seem to close out games in the third period. PHT also points out that the goaltending is not to blame here. For the most part, I agree with the article but I also think it goes a bit deeper than that. The Flyers are in self-preservation mode. The memory of all the fatigue and injuries suffered towards the end of the ’10 season and throughout the playoffs is once again fresh …

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