There are a lot of weapons at the disposal of NHL general managers during the offseason. There are trades to be made, both big and small. Hundreds of players will hit unrestricted free agency on July 1, ranging from star scorers like Steven Stamkos and Sam Reinhart to valuable depth pieces (and less valuable ones susceptible to being overpaid). And of course, the draft will welcome over 200 teenagers to NHL organizations that could make an impact somewhere down the line.
But those aren’t the only types of transactions made over the summer. Offer sheets are not exactly common — there have only been two over the last decade, both between the same teams. The opportunity to use them to poach restricted free agents exists, though. And while no general manager (GM) wants to wade into the buyout waters, it sometimes becomes necessary to clean up a team’s cap situation and give a player a much-needed fresh start.
As CapFriendly posted on X recently, no team has less cap space than the Philadelphia Flyers, who sit just over $500,000 under the salary cap. That’s a bit misleading due to a few factors, most notably because it counts the $6.25 million owed to Ryan Ellis, who will spend the rest of his career on long-term injured reserve. Still, the Flyers aren’t exactly swimming in cap space, and while that isn’t a big deal given the team is still in rebuild mode, some extra room is always appreciated.
Beyond that, it may make sense to say farewell to some players. Doing so would create space on the roster for the young talent coming through the pipeline. Here are a few players GM Daniel Brière could look to buy out this summer, plus the salary cap implications of doing so.
Cam Atkinson
The soon-to-be 35-year-old missed the 2022-23 season due to a neck injury. Upon returning, Cam Atkinson looked like the versatile scoring forward he had been throughout his career — at first. After scoring 14 points in Philadelphia’s first 20 games, a goalless December led to a healthy scratch on Jan. 4. That initially led to a second wind, as Atkinson scored 10 points in his first 12 games back in the lineup. But he wouldn’t score a single point the rest of the season, which included a more frequent spot in the press box.
Atkinson has one year remaining at a $5.875 million cap hit, plus a 10-team no-trade list that makes dumping his current contract even more difficult. So if the Flyers don’t want to bring him back, a buyout may be the only option. Doing so would result in a cap charge of $2,358,334, or a savings of about $3.5 million for 2024-25. However, it would come at the cost of a $1,758,334 penalty in 2025-26.
From a cultural perspective, there is and isn’t an immediate need to remove Atkinson. John Tortorella certainly respects him. Last season was the seventh Tortorella coached him, excluding the 2022-23 campaign that Atkinson was sidelined for. But a veteran of 770 NHL games and a seven-time 20-goal scorer may not be too happy if he’s relegated to 13th or 14th forward, which could affect team morale.
Looking at roster fit, the Flyers have a good amount of wingers, although right-handed shots Owen Tippett and Tyson Foerster proved more than capable at left-wing last season. If Matvei Michkov were to come over from Russia, that would almost firmly move Atkinson to the outside of the opening night roster. That’s far from a guarantee, though.
Cal Petersen
Cal Petersen was originally acquired by the Flyers purely as a salary dump from the Los Angeles Kings last summer as part of the Ivan Provorov trade. His first season in Philadelphia played out nearly the same as his final season in Los Angeles — ok numbers in the American Hockey League (AHL) (save percentage just over .900) but unplayable in the brief NHL action he did earn (SV% in the .860s).
At a $5 million cap hit for one more season, Petersen is drastically overpaid for what he is now — a mediocre third or fourth option on a goalie depth chart. A change of scenery didn’t get Petersen back to the promising form he showed early in his NHL career coming out of the University of Notre Dame. So, it would seem to make sense for the Flyers to cut ties with the 29-year-old.
Doing so via buyout would cost the Flyers $1 million this season and $2 million the year after. If they bury Petersen in the AHL again, just as they did for most of last season, they would reduce his cap hit from $5 million to $3.85 million.
If Petersen stays, he would likely split the crease for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms with 22-year-old Aleksei Kolosov, who’s coming to North America from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia. The only other goalies the Flyers have under contract are 18-year-old Carson Bjarnason (who will return to the Western Hockey League – WHL), incumbent starter Samuel Ersson (who only has 63 NHL games under his belt), and Ivan Fedotov, who came over from the KHL just after Kolosov and signed a two-year, $6.55 million extension earlier this offseason.
Ryan Johansen
There’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding Ryan Johansen’s status. As a result, it’s unknown if a buyout is even possible. The Flyers acquired him purely as a salary dump to maximize the return for Sean Walker at the trade deadline, acquiring a 2025 first-round pick from the Colorado Avalanche.
The Flyers placed Johansen on waivers shortly after acquiring him, with zero intentions of reuniting him with Tortorella and re-opening a bad relationship from their time together in Columbus. But before the Flyers could demote Johansen, he made the team aware of an injury he had suffered before the deal, which led to him technically staying in the NHL.
If Johansen’s injury lingers throughout the buyout window (mid-June to June 30) he is ineligible for a buyout. If he’s healthy, then that option is on the table. His contract originally carried an $8 million cap hit, but the Nashville Predators (who signed him to the deal) retained half of that when they traded him to Colorado last offseason. If the Flyers buy out Johansen, they and Nashville would be saddled with a $1,333,334 penalty this year and next. The Flyers would save the $4 million attributed to Johansen, but Nashville would not since their hit is retained salary. So, a buyout would save Philadelphia about $2.67 million next season while bringing the total dead cap charge against the Predators to $5.33 million.
If the Flyers don’t (or can’t) buy out Johansen, his cap situation comes down to his injury status. If he’s still hurt severely, they could gain total relief from his $4 million cap hit by placing him on LTIR. They could also keep the contract active and ride it out, although if they decide to use LTIR to remove Ellis’ salary from their books, there’s no reason not to add Johansen as well. If he is healthy, the Flyers could also keep him in the NHL as a permanent healthy scratch. Doing so would count against the 23-man roster limit, though. In this case, it’s more likely the Flyers would demote him to the Phantoms at that point, saving $1.15 million in the process.
To Buy Out or Not to Buy Out?
The Flyers were so worried about Johansen’s impact on their dressing room that they wouldn’t even give him a chance to play for the team. Given such heightened concerns, it’s best to remove him from the organization as soon as the opportunity arises. If a buyout is possible, they shouldn’t hesitate.
Related: Assessing Sean Couturier’s Future with the Flyers
Petersen seems like the best candidate to keep. He was perfectly fine for the Phantoms, helping the team qualify for the playoffs and win their first-round series (although he struggled in the playoffs with a ghastly .887 SV% in six games). The Flyers don’t have much goalie depth in the organization and the current NHL tandem lacks experience. Petersen has nearly twice as many NHL games as Ersson and Fedotov combined. Given those factors, there’s no pressing need to part ways with him. He can ride out the last year of his contract. Anthony DiMarco of the Fourth Period reported a few days ago that’s indeed the direction the Flyers are leaning toward, although things could always change.
As for Atkinson, it depends on how comfortable he is with the role he had down the stretch last season. It’s certainly possible he will bounce back next season. The impact of missing a full season can’t be understated. However, it’s not a guarantee, especially at his age. If he wants a change of scenery (although there’s no guarantee another NHL team will give him that, even on a professional tryout) or the Flyers feel he could be a drain if he’s a regular scratch again, then a buyout is the way to go. It’s up to Brière to read the tea leaves correctly here.