The Philadelphia Flyers and GM Ron Hextall don't have much in the way of salary cap room at the moment, which is why it was so surprising to see Hextall dole out a sizable chunk of his remaining space to young veteran defenseman Michael Del Zotto yesterday. Del Zotto, an afterthought addition last offseason, wound up reacquiring the high-level form that once made him such a promising prospect for the Rangers and now has a two-year, $7.75 million deal to show for it.
Unfortunately, with MDZ now signed, the Flyers cap space went from minimal to nearly non-existent - Hextall indicated on Thursday that the team had about $360,000 in space after Del Zotto's deal, per Tim Panaccio of CSNPhilly.com. Despite that fact, it seems Hextall remains hopeful of getting star forward Jakub Voracek signed to a long-term extension, perhaps by as early as training camp in September.
"Hextall said he continues to have dialogue with Jake Voracek's agent about a contract extension and would like to get something done by training camp," writes Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Voracek, who earned his first all-star berth last season, has one year remaining on his four-year, $17 million deal."
Of course, Voracek's deal, while both a pressing need and well-deserved after a season in which the big Czech managed 22 goals and 59 assists, may hinge on Hextall's ability to move out bodies and salaries elsewhere.
Vinny Lecavalier's albatross of a contract, set to pay him $4.5 million next season, has become dead weight that Hextall has made clear in the past he'd like to jettison. Lecavalier changed his own tune somewhat about wanting to be shipped elsewhere after former Flyers coach Craig Berube was relieved of his duties, but it's hard to imagine Hextall doing anything but continuing to actively shop the future Hall of Famer.
Del Zotto's signing, combined with the offseason addition of Yevgeny Medvedev and Radko Gudas - as part of the Braydon Coburn trade - the re-signing of Nick Schultz to a two-year deal and the drafting of the potentially-ready-to-play-from-Day-One Ivan Provorov, means Hextall has a crowded defensive depth chart at present.
"I don't think it's a perfect world," Hextall said, via Narducci. "Things are quiet [on possible trades] now. We have some good defensemen and I am sure we will get calls."
In the end, the blossoming Voracek will remain a member of the Flyers organization via a long-term deal - Panaccio suggests it could be something along the lines of five-years, $35 million, which would be very similar to the one the 30-year-old Ryan Kesler just signed with the Anaheim Ducks - it's just a matter of when.
If Hextall can continue his miracle work this offseason and jettison some more bad contracts, it'll likely come sooner. Just don't expect the new Flyers GM to put too much pressure on the situation or try to force something.
"There is no deadline in something like this," Hextall said, per Panaccio, before adding that it would be "ideal" to have a deal done with Voracek by training camp.
