All is not quiet on the RFA front, I don’t know if you have heard but some dude named Mitch Marner has signed a contract with the :checks notes: Toronto Maple Leafs. Hm. That seems like a big deal, I wonder if people are talking about it? I kid, I kid. Of course people are talking about how this affects the Leafs.
So what this means for us is that there’s a lot more attention on the remaining unsigned RFAs, which includes our very own Travis Konecny. Here’s what people are saying:
Fletcher laid out the issue: The Konecny side wants a specific long-term deal at a specific number, and not interested in bridge deal. Flyers would do either type of deal. But numbers on long-term are at an impasse.
— Bill Meltzer (@billmeltzer) September 14, 2019
Long-term, ok, I don’t hate this.
Konecny is seeking a long-term deal, and Fletcher said that “makes it a little more difficult.” #Flyers
— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) September 13, 2019
Yeah ok, keep crunching those numbers Chuck.
To dig a little deeper into what Konecny is asking for, let’s turn to an article by Dave Isaac:
“We still have a ways to go,” general manager Chuck Fletcher said. “So I don’t really know how to characterize it. Both sides are trying. It’s been a little quiet recently so we’ll look find a solution to break the impasse.
“They have some specific demands with respect to term and so we’re trying to work with them in that regard. I think we’re a little more flexible. I think we would look at, you know, a two- or three-year deal or a longer-term deal and they prefer a longer-term deal right now. Certainly that makes it a little bit more difficult when you narrow the scope of what length of term you’re negotiating on, but hopefully we will continue to work at it.”
Alright, so, they’re flexible. But clearly not so much so that they are willing to bend to the demands of the Konecny camp. I get it, negotiations are hard and complicated for both sides, I have A LOT of experience negotiating contracts. At some point, you have to make a deal. Fletcher saying that it’s been quiet recently is wildly concerning, someone should tell him training camp has started and the time to get this done was last week.
Now, new head coach Alain Vigneault had some opinions, of which I have many feelings.
Alain Vigneault on his “disappointment” regarding RFA forward Travis Konecny’s absence from the first day of Flyers training camp. pic.twitter.com/xEphAzNkY6
— Adam Kimelman (@NHLAdamK) September 13, 2019
It is incredibly important to point out that Konecny is not just no-showing. You can’t just show up. He doesn’t have a contract. There are multiple parties involved here, not solely Travis Konecny. If you’re going to hold it against the player, you have to also hold it against management. Also, AV was so unfamiliar with his new players, he let Fletch and Co set the lines for Day One of Training Camp, so maybe calm down with the dad disappointment.
It sucks, no one likes it. I’m sure Konecny would rather be on the ice than dealing with negotiations. I’m confident Fletcher would rather be analyzing prospect performance and rounding out his team than having a top six winger in limbo.
Let’s hear some more thoughts, from Jordan Hall:
For now, the Flyers have to practice, prepare and move forward without Konecny. Negotiations can change quickly, but nothing sounds promising at the moment and the Flyers have a preseason game on Monday. There’s a new head coach and two new assistant coaches. There’s no doubt time is precious in camp.
”It certainly doesn’t help him,” Fletcher said. “For us, he’s a good player and can help our team. For now, you guys hear these clichés all the time, but it’s no different than when you get an injury during the season, you don’t have a player. We believe we have good depth, we like our depth, there’s opportunity now for other players to step up and show what they can do. We’d rather Travis was here, but he’s not, so we just have to move on without him and hopefully at some point he gets in.”
Some more promising sentiments from Adam Kimelman:
“We’ll help him as much as we can to get him back to his game and make him feel comfortable,” Provorov said. “If he has any questions about the new systems, the new coaches and us as players, we’ll help him.”
Can we just, ugh, come on. I am so tired. Please, PLEASE, get this done soon. I am literally begging.
When will Travis Konecny sign a contract?
| Before pre-season | 183 |
| During pre-season | 577 |
| Before the start of the regular season | 383 |
| other (trade, long term hold out, etc) | 336 |
