The Philadelphia Flyers have signed Vincent Lecavalier to a five-year, $22.5 million contract. In other words, the Flyers have won the sweepstakes to arguably the most enticing player on the market. Flyers fans should be happy and analysts should be commending the team for landing a prized asset, right?
Not quite.
The move is a highly questionable one considering where Philadelphia stands financially. The Flyers are currently over the $64.3 million salary cap. They will have to make at least one move just to have a legal roster. The bigger problem is the fact the Flyers still have some serious issues to address. Only one goaltender (Steve Mason) is under contract. Obviously they'll have to bring in another netminder, but it'll have to be a cheap one. Lecavalier is an outstanding player numerous teams would love to have, but the Flyers aren't in the best position to pay another forward big money when they have other glaring roster issues.
How did Twitter respond to the Philadelphia – Lecavalier news? To say reactions were negative would be an understatement. Though one Flyers writer seems to be awfully optimistic…
I can confirm that the #Flyers just became a playoff team.
— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) July 2, 2013
Right. We'd love to debate that one.
Other reactions were a bit more realistic.
Flyers no doubt found Lecavalier's future buyout number to be cap friendly.
— Kevin Paul Dupont (@GlobeKPD) July 2, 2013
Well this will end in tears. #lecavalier
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) July 2, 2013
The Flyers had needs at defense and in goal. So they sign Vincent Lecavalier. Makes sense.
— Dan Kramer (@DanKramerHabs) July 2, 2013
Vincent Lecavalier is now a Flyer… I wonder if he's gunna play goalie?
— Jon Eslinger (@JonEslinger) July 3, 2013
And a goaltender… RT @tpanotchCSN: Flyers are going to need more cap space
— Jesse Spector (@jessespector) July 2, 2013
Maybe the Flyers can trade Steve Mason to free up the cap space and just play 6-on-5 all year.
— Jesse Spector (@jessespector) July 2, 2013
Actually, a lot of people would love to see that.
That's just a small sample. Some Flyers fans are rallying around the signing, but it's safe to say most are reserved and are curious to see how their team handles a tricky cap situation.
What's your opinion on Philadelphia signing Lecavalier?
