Chuck Fletcher can’t head off on vacation quite yet. Announced Sunday afternoon, by the NHL Player’s Association, Philadelphia Flyers winger Zack MacEwen has filed for salary arbitration.
The two sides — the Flyers and the player’s representative — will argue their sides for what they believe is a fair salary, and a third-party arbitrator will make the final decision on the salary, which usually just happens to be exactly in the middle between the two sides’ numbers. The hearing will take place some time between July 27 and Aug. 11.
The 26-year-old bruising winger is in his final year under team control before heading to unrestricted free agency. While the two sides can still agree to a new contract that will have him stay in Philadelphia beyond a single year before the actual arbitration happens, the most likely result of this process is going to the hearing and a one-year deal being decided by the arbitrator. Which means that MacEwen will most likely be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
For the Flyers, this will no doubt be difficult. Due to the handful of moves they have already done this summer, they are approximately $98,000 above the salary cap. Teams are allowed to go above the cap by 10 percent in the offseason — which is $8.25 million this year — so they can still add contracts and will just need to be under the salary cap ceiling before the regular season begins in October.
Other restricted free agents that will also need new contracts from the Flyers include: Owen Tippett, Wade Allison, Jackson Cates, Hayden Hodgson, Tanner Laczynski, Isaac Ratcliffe, and Linus Hogberg. That is a lot of depth players — and one that will hopefully be in the top-six — to sign, with not a lot of room available.
MacEwen was claimed off waivers mid-season last year by the Flyers, and was in his final year of a two-year deal that carried a $825,000 cap hit. He scored a total of nine points in 75 games for Philadelphia last season, but had 12 fights, which sums up his role on this team.
