Celebrate! Your Philadelphia Flyers, now under the Salary Cap

by Geoff Detweiler on Feb 3, 2011 3:43 PM EST in Philadelphia Flyers News

For the first time since Mike Rathje was placed on LTIR late in November of 2007, the Flyers are under the yearly salary cap.

This truly remarkable as the Flyers have gone over three full calendar years -- at least -- since they have been able to avoid using the Long-Term Injured Reserve. Have $4,000 in daily space? Use ALL of it to acquire a player via trade and not worry about incurring penalties the following year.

Even though the Flyers have Ian Laperriere on LTIR -- and probably will next year as well -- they are still $13,402 below the daily cap. Using this surplus, they were able to pay down all the debt incurred while they had Matt Walker and Michael Leighton on LTIR as well.

It's probably just a nominal achievement, but after having to constantly worry about the salary cap, shedding players for nothing due to mismanagement, and fretting over whether the team could afford to acquire a big salary at the deadline, the Flyers are finally here: The land of Cap Space.

Here's to you, Mr. Holmgren. And Mr. Rathje.

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This is a momentous day in the history of the Flyers.

Contributor at The Brotherly Game, SBN's Philadelphia Union blog

by Ben Feldman on Feb 3, 2011 3:48 PM EST reply actions

Where's the party at?

I’ll bring punch and pie.

BOILER UP!! 2010-2011

"You can commit no mistake and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life." - Jean-Luc Picard

by EREX21 on Feb 3, 2011 3:59 PM EST reply actions

WOOO-HOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They should have an officially sponsored cap party at the Wells tonight.

Just Call Me "M"!

by MJDII on Feb 3, 2011 4:02 PM EST reply actions

Hu-fucking-zzah.

by Snevik on Feb 3, 2011 4:02 PM EST reply actions

Hooray!

Mourning Gagne forever.

by ToddtheFox on Feb 3, 2011 4:04 PM EST reply actions

This calls for fireworks.

Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun
Definition: Bad-assery on skates

by Chemistry66 on Feb 3, 2011 4:08 PM EST reply actions

You gotta get some of the streamer like ones that crackle on the way down. I like them.

Just Call Me "M"!

by MJDII on Feb 3, 2011 4:11 PM EST up reply actions

If I hadn’t forgotten to save my videos when I transferred my phone, I would have made a gif of the fireworks from a few years ago at the Cooper River Park in South Jersey.

Ian Laperriere (EE-an luh-PAIR-ee-YAIR), proper noun
Definition: Bad-assery on skates

by Chemistry66 on Feb 3, 2011 4:15 PM EST up reply actions

I'll be the buzzkill

But WTF is the point of a cap if a team like the flyers can go since 2007 over it? I mean, you say we cant trade for big name players, but yet we traded for a $4M Mezaros this offseason. I mean, maybe through technical numbers we were “over”, but we’ve always been under by the league rules.

Samesis

by JpH89 on Feb 3, 2011 4:11 PM EST reply actions

LTIR. You have to have a player who is legitimately injured in order to actually go over the cap.

Man-crushin' on Boucher since 1999 and Matt Calvert since May 2010
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
SB Nation Philly - Associate Editor

by Geoff Detweiler on Feb 3, 2011 4:29 PM EST up reply actions

but thats all fine and good cause all it does it extend the cap of the team. Its IR in football.

Samesis

by JpH89 on Feb 3, 2011 4:31 PM EST up reply actions

Well, we can’t sign every free agent in the league indiscriminately. We can’t get a player like Kovy, even if we have obvious interest.

by Snevik on Feb 3, 2011 4:54 PM EST up reply actions

You asked what the point of a cap is. It’s not easy to get around, though teams are given some leeway. But what’s the alternative?

If you have a guy go down with a career injury and contracts are guaranteed, is the League going to tell the Flyers they cannot put him on LTIR, they have to force the player to retire so they still have his cap hit? Why would the NHLPA agree to that? They wouldn’t. So you have LTIR and you have the Flyers able to use it to avoid minor (relatively) contracts.

This isn’t a Wade Redden/Cristobal Huet contract the Flyers hid on LTIR. It’s a legitimate career-ending injury, for “only” $3.5 million. If it’s cap circumvention, it’s nowhere near Kovalchuk or Redden on LTIR levels.

Man-crushin' on Boucher since 1999 and Matt Calvert since May 2010
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
SB Nation Philly - Associate Editor

by Geoff Detweiler on Feb 3, 2011 5:21 PM EST up reply actions

Party @ Sheen’s House!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Call me dumb, call me stupid, whatever. I block shots."

by boknows71 on Feb 3, 2011 4:16 PM EST reply actions

I think this deserves a toast later

by lazerwolf on Feb 3, 2011 4:38 PM EST reply actions

I think this deserves Post Toasties.

"Darroll can't see it, blind to the eyes;
He came up in your face OOPS POWE SURPRISE!"
Man-crushin' on #36 since he hit his "absolute ceiling" as a rookie in 2008.

by mikefive on Feb 3, 2011 4:46 PM EST reply actions

Ode To Rathje

Uncle Cortisone, we hardly knew ye.

"Darroll can't see it, blind to the eyes;
He came up in your face OOPS POWE SURPRISE!"
Man-crushin' on #36 since he hit his "absolute ceiling" as a rookie in 2008.

by mikefive on Feb 3, 2011 4:50 PM EST reply actions

Parade down broad street ???

by chrislanci on Feb 3, 2011 5:24 PM EST reply actions

WOOOOOOOO

Glad we are finally under the cap pretty much ever since I knew what a salary cap was. I hope we keep it under for a bit and bank up some cap space so we aren’t stuck with some bonuses next season like Chicago. And how do we do that??? No moves at the deadline. I don’t think we need to do anything unless something bad happens which I won’t say to jinx it.

#1 Flyers Fan in New York

Good bye #12, you will always bleed Orange and Black.

by Lindbergh 31 on Feb 3, 2011 9:16 PM EST reply actions