Ever wonder what the Flyers salary cap currently looks like for next year?  Well, I'm here to show you.  Below you will find tables of who the Flyers have under contract for the 2010-2011 season.

I completely took this idea from Dominik over at Lighthouse Hockey, so I must give him credit.  It seems a good idea, especially - as he said - around the trading deadline.

All numbers were gathered from CapGeek.com, so feel free to correct any mistakes of mine.

The tables below will look only at players under contract for the following season and whose rights the Flyers have, via restricted free agent status.  Hence, you will see that the Flyers only have one goalie signed for next year.

Jump to see what the 2010-2011 Flyers look like as of today.

Just like Dominik did, it's important to get a few things out of the way first:

• Players scheduled to be restricted free agents at the end of this season are in italics.  The Flyers can receive draft picks depending on whether they sign with another club or not, after the Flyers make a qualifying offer of course.
  
• Cap hits next to RFAs are this year's cap hits, so some of them would likely receive a raise (Coburn) while others could conceivably take a cut (Parent).
• The Cap this year is roughly $56.8 million, which could easily go down next year.
• Players listed as locked up for next year's cap doesn't mean they must count.  For example, if the team doesn't want to carry Cote next year, he would be waived and either claimed or sent to the Phantoms.  In either case, his number doesn't count against the cap.
• The first two tables show cap hit, in terms of million.  The numbers are also rounded, so for example, Lappy's $1,166,666 cap hit is shown as: $1.17.
• The AHL player list shows cap hit in terms of thousands.  So, Marshall's $845,833 is shown as $846,
  

First, the Forwards:

As you can see, the Flyers already have 11 forwards locked up for next year.  Yes, Riley Cote is still signed through next year.  If the salary cap stays the same, the Flyers have roughly 57% of the maximum cap locked up in their 11 forwards. 

The team's two RFAs - Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe - are likely to be resigned, whether that's smart or not.  Personally, I hope Carcillo is resigned.  He should earn around $1 mil or so, which isn't a substantial raise.  But that creates a log jam on the left wing while the team is massively shorthanded on the right side.  Briere is listed as a center here, but he could just as easily be listed as a RW.  Swap Briere and Giroux if you want, it doesn't really make much of a difference.  Either way, this is where resigning both Powe and Carillo becomes questionable.

Not only would the entire top 13 remain the same next year - and if it isn't working this year, why do the same thing next year? - but the team would have 6 left wings, 5 centers, and only 2 right wings.  Obviously, Powe and Briere can both play right, but the team's forwards aren't very well balanced.  And they're pretty much set for next year - barring any trades.

Onto the Defense and Goalies:

Here's where the team has a little bit of room.  The team has a combined $48.61 million locked up for next season, roughly $8.2 mil shy of the cap.  With three RFA defensemen, the team has a pretty big hole on the blueline - they have a formidable top-3 locked up with a decent #6 signed cheap.  Coburn would be a great #4 at the right price, but if he receives a big offer from another team, letting him walk would be well worth the compensatory draft picks.  As mentioned above, Ryan Parent could be looking at a paycut, which would make him a solid #5.  Because of his injury history, letting him walk might not be the worst move either.

The gaping hole on this team, however, is in net.  This is where the $8mil+ of cap room looks to be spent.  The free agent market for goalies has been thoroughly discussed around these parts, so I'll spare you that again.  Needless to say, the team has money to spend if they choose.  Whether they want to spend that money on a guy like Evgeni Nabokov or not is another story.

Lastly, prospects who have signed a pro contract:

This table is mostly to show what those who are most likely to make the club next year from within would cost.  Most of these guys won't be ready for NHL duty.  But just in case the team decides to spend money on a goalie and a defensemen, leaving a hole on the right wing, you now know how much Stefan Legein or Andreas Nodl would cost the team.

The biggest thing about this list is that the team has already signed a few players to a pro contract who are still in Juniors  - mainly Eric Wellwood and Zac Rinaldo.  They will find themselves in Glens Falls next year.  What will be interesting is how the team handles Matsumoto and Laliberte, two of their better AHL players who will probably be looking for an NHL job next year.  It's highly unlikely the Flyers can guarantee them one, but letting them walk probably won't bring the team back many draft picks.  Do you sign them as decent AHL depth, trade them for younger prospects, or offer them a qualifying deal and take the picks if they walk?

Conclusion:

The Flyers have 14 of the 20 players who dressed last night signed for next season (Asham, Krajicek, and Leighton are UFA).  They also have both of their healthy scratches signed for next year.  With so few roster spots open, it's no wonder they only have $8 million in cap space available.  With that said, they need to sign a goalie, two defensemen, and two forwards.  It's completely doable, especially if they are able to sign their RFAs relatively cheaply.  Carcillo, Coburn, and Parent combined should require around $4 million, leaving about $4 million for a goalie.

But then the question becomes, what about some space available for a mid-season acquisition?  Well, that would certainly be nice and it's completely possible since the Flyers will finally be free from Mike Rathje's contract, as well as erasing the colossal mistake of Randy Jones.  With that, the Flyers should be able to bank any saved space they have at the start of the season for later. 

Our question to you:  Is it a good thing that so much of this year's under-performing squad is signed for next year?