As per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the Philadelphia Flyers have big changes coming this offseason. One of the easier ways to make improvements is to have money to spend and to get money, you often need to move money. With that in mind, the future for a player like Jakub Voracek could be in question. He makes Seravalli’s No. 18 spot on his Top 20 trade names to watch list.
Seravalli notes:
This is going to be an enormous offseason for GM Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers, who are eager to improve. Voracek has been a big part of Philly’s core for a decade, but clearing out his contract also represents the cleanest path to cap flexibility. Could Seattle be enticed with a pick to take him? It wouldn’t shock anyone to see Voracek, who is owed a few million fewer in real dollars on the backend of his deal, be back in the 60-point range again next season.
If the Flyers are going to try and move Voracek this offseason, there might not be a ton of takers considering the player has three years at $8.25 million AAV remaining on his current deal. Perhaps that’s why the Seattle Kraken were mentioned — who hired their first coach today in Dave Hakstol, and Hakstol has some experience with Voracek. The Kraken have all sorts of money to spend with a blank slate to start the summer and because Voracek is actually owed less cash on the back end of his deal, it could be an attractive option for the Kraken if they struggle at all to reach the salary cap floor.
Voracek Could Still be Productive
Last season Voracek didn’t have a bad season, scoring nine times and posting 43 points in 53 games. He could be a useful piece for the Kraken, or any other team looking at a solid scorer who will have a few seasons left on his deal and then likely sign lower-cost, shorter-term deals. He’s reached the 85-point mark in his career and in the right situation, could play well.
If the Flyers can’t convince the Kraken to look more closely, the Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings could be interested. And, if the Flyers are willing to retain salary in the deal, other teams needing top-six help could express a bit of interest. For the Flyers, if they are going to be players on names like Seth Jones or Dougie Hamilton, moving money out is imperative. Maybe a salary cap dump is not that far out of the realm of possibility.
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