After a few futile years, Chuck Fletcher’s leash was lengthened even further and the former Flyers general manager dug the organization’s hole a little deeper last summer.
Fletcher’s failures in Philadelphia will long affect the Flyers – and they’ve already caused a snag in one transaction that we know of.
Over the weekend, it was reported that the Flyers and Hurricanes were working on another Tony DeAngelo trade.
Less than 12 months after going from Carolina to Philadelphia for three draft picks (and signing a two-year, $10M contract), he was set to be a member of the Hurricanes again with the Flyers retaining 50% of that $5M cap hit and getting a low-tier prospect in return. However, there was an issue that needed to be ironed out.
On Monday, it became clear via The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun and ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski that the “snag” was the fact that the Hurricanes were attempting to re-acquire a player that they traded away less than 12 months prior.
Per LeBrun:
“The Hurricanes and Flyers were in agreement in principle on Tony DeAngelo going to Carolina for a prospect and Philadelphia retaining 50 percent of his remaining $5 million salary and cap hit for next season. But my understanding is that the NHL took issue with DeAngelo going back to Carolina within a year of his trade from the Hurricanes. There’s language in the CBA about a player returning within 12 months, especially on a retained salary, as being possible circumvention.”
As LeBrun goes on to mention, the teams have argued that it should be a moot point as DeAngelo’s contract was signed by Philadelphia’s former GM.
There is a chance that the trade happens this week with all the teams in Nashville for the NHL Draft, LeBrun explained, but they could also make the teams wait until July 9th. By that point, however, who knows if the Flyers or Hurricanes will still want to make that trade.
And that’s where the issue lies.
If the league forces the Flyers and Hurricanes to wait until July 9th – two weeks after reports of the trade initially broke – a savvy team like the Hurricanes could find a better option than DeAngelo.
Even if both sides fully agree to a deal that will take place in a few weeks, it exposes a team’s plans and more importantly handcuffs them. Things can be agreed to on paper but until it’s official, any of the other 28 GMs could swoop in with a more enticing offer.
Luckily, the new Briere-led brass appears to be competent enough to not let something like this fall through the cracks. Even if Carolina goes another route, Briere should be able to find a trading partner for DeAngelo to get rid of another one of John Tortorella’s Misfit Toys.
Ivan Provorov and Kevin Hayes have already been shipped out of town. Provorov was a bit of a surprise – as was the return – but the writing was on the wall for Hayes, who the Flyers were only able to fetch a sixth-round pick for despite retaining 50% of his salary.
DeAngelo should soon join Provorov and Hayes on that list as Briere continues to clean up Fletcher’s failures.
