PHILADELPHIA FLYERS COACH: John Tortorella (704-579-37 over 22 seasons, 1 Stanley Cup title) SEASON OPENER: Oct. 13 at Columbus. DEPARTURES: D Ivan Provorov, C Kevin Hayes, F James van Riemsdyk, D Tony DeAngelo. ADDITIONS: President Keith Jones, GM Danny Briere, G Cal Petersen, F Garnet Hathaway, D Marc Staal.
Salary cap deep dive: Washington Capitals yardbarker.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yardbarker.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Ovechkin’s situation is well-known at this point. He isn’t hiding the fact that he intends to stay with Washington, and basically, the only questions are for how many years and how much? His next deal will have a 35-plus classification, but that shouldn’t be much concern. While there is an expectation that his production will eventually decline, he still should be able to command a similar price tag to what he’s making now. Vrana continues to improve each season and has firmly established himself as a top-six fixture. He will have two RFA-eligible years remaining after 2020-21 and with his bridge deal expiring, he’ll be looking for a long-term pact. In a normal market, something in the $6M range would make sense, and there are enough comparables to make that case in arbitration.