The Flyers will not be going to arbitration with any of their players. Ron Hextall and Company finished up their final restricted free agency signing on Tuesday morning, bringing defenseman Brandon Manning back on a two-year deal worth $1.95 million in total.
That’s a cap hit of $975,000. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet first broke the news. Tim Wharnsby of CBC has more details, adding that it’s an $850,000 contract with a $100,000 signing bonus in Year 1 and a salary of $1 million in Year 2.
Manning earned $625,000 on his last deal, a one-year contract signed last summer. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent when this deal expires in the summer of 2018.
Yesterday we wrote that we expected Manning to get somewhere around $900,000 on his new deal, so this is a touch over that. There are still a few variables involved with the Flyers’ salary cap outlook next season — mostly related who makes the team out of camp — but look for them to have somewhere around $1 million in cap space to play with when the season begins in October.
But as Charlie points out, signing Manning for more than a year could help the Flyers in next summer’s NHL expansion draft. Should Manning play 14 games this coming season — which seems likely, one way or the other — they’ll be able to expose him in the expansion draft. Had this not been a two-year deal, they would have needed to play Andrew MacDonald in at least 40 games next season to have him be eligible for exposure in the expansion draft. Given AMac’s salary in comparison to his ability as an NHL defenseman … and, yeah, it’s safe to say the Flyers would love the flexibility to bury him in the AHL again if need be.
Manning seems likely to slot in as the seventh defenseman on the Flyers again, at least to start the season. He played in 56 games last season.
