The Philadelphia Flyers completed their last important piece of offseason business on Saturday. General manager Chuck Fletcher announced that the team avoided arbitration by re-signing defenseman Travis Sanheim.
-
Ep 30: Nazem Kadri; Lightning Advance; Rust Re-Signsby Full Press Coverage on May 25, 2022 at 1:10 am
Jim and Chris discuss Nazem Kadri's big night, the Lightning advancing […]
The deal is for two years, with an average annual value of $4.675 million. It will carry the 25-year-old to unrestricted free agency.
“We discussed all options,” Sanheim told the media on Monday. “Ultimately, with the situation that we were in with the cap, I think it just made more sense to do something short term.”
Sanheim’s arbitration case was one of just two that was team-requested, along with Kevin Fiala of the Minnesota Wild. The clock was ticking to get a deal done before Sanheim’s arbitration hearing on August 26.
The Ins and Outs of Salary Arbitration
Arbitration hearings can breed hard feelings. The player’s representatives present the case for why their client deserves the best possible contract. The team counters with evidence to try to bring that number down.
As a result, it’s rare for players to reach the hearing stage these days. Arbitration eligibility is now used as more of a tool to create a deadline for both sides to come to terms. That can be on a one or two-year deal, as an arbitrator would award, or something more long term.
This year, 19 players had arbitration hearings scheduled, but no case made it that far. Sanheim was the last player to settle.
In 2020, the only player to have an arbitration hearing was winger Tyler Bertuzzi of the Detroit Red Wings. Per the Detroit News, Bertuzzi requested $4.25 million and the Red Wings countered with $3.15 million. The arbitrator came down closer to Detroit’s number, at $3.5 million.
Despite playing just nine games last season before suffering a back injury that required surgery, Bertuzzi got a raise this summer when he signed a new two-year extension with a cap hit of $4.75 million per season.
Sanheim’s Comparables
According to CapFriendly, Sanheim’s deal will pay him $4 million in the 2021-22 season, then $5.35 million in 2022-23. All funds will be paid in salary — there are no signing bonuses. CapFriendly’s closest comparable contract is the two-year deal that a just-turned-26-year-old Ryan Pulock signed last November with the New York Islanders, at a $5 million cap hit.
The two Manitobans share similar draft positions — Pulock was selected 15th overall in 2013, while Sanheim went 17th in 2014. When his contract was signed heading into last season, Pulock had amassed 33 goals and 125 points while averaging 20:43 of ice time over 290 NHL games. Sanheim is at 85 points in 255 career games, with 19:27 of average ice time.
Another interesting comparable is 25-year-old Neal Pionk of the Winnipeg Jets. He was undrafted but has established himself as a regular top-four defenseman over the last three seasons, with 117 points in 226 games with the Jets and the New York Rangers, and 22:12 of average ice time. After filing for arbitration this summer, Pionk and the Jets settled on a four-year deal with a cap hit of $5.875 million.
Flyers Cap Crunched
A longer-term deal for Sanheim likely wouldn’t have come in quite that high. But even at $4.675 million, the new contract puts the Flyers under some pressure with respect to salary-cap compliance.
After Carter Hart inked his new three-year contract earlier this month, Fletcher was left with just over $4 million remaining for Sanheim. Since the new deal pushes the team above the $81.5 million salary-cap ceiling for the 2021-22 season, CapFriendly is now showing the Flyers will a 22-man roster instead of the maximum of 23.
Smaller rosters have become relatively common tools for cap-strapped teams to save space. That can mean actually carrying fewer players at the NHL level, or swapping waiver-exempt players down to the minors on off days between games. The Flyers are set to open their season with four home games over a relatively leisurely nine nights. With their AHL affiliate just 75 miles away in Allentown, they’ll have the luxury of being able to make those quick moves as needed. That should help them start amassing extra cap space right away.
Latest Flyers News
- Clock Is Ticking, Flyers Interview Tortorella In Coach Search
- The Philadelphia Flyers Hold Pick No. 5 In The 2022 NHL Draft
- Flyers Ink D Adam Ginning, G Ivan Fedotov To Entry-Level Contracts
- NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers
- Barry Trotz Could Be The Perfect Solution To What Ails The Flyers
Defensive Consistency
The Flyers allowed more goals than any other team in the NHL last season. One issue that arose was consistency of the defense pairings; Sanheim played with numerous partners over the course of the year.
With the offseason additions of Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen and Keith Yandle, it’s expected that the back-end pairings will be more consistent in 2021-22.
“I think that was something that they looked at and wanted to address,” Sanheim said. “It’s difficult playing different partners, different positions, whether it’s left or right. I think to be able to kind of settle in and find some chemistry with somebody is going to make each other better and make our team better.”
Watch for Sanheim to start out on the left side with the big, physical Ristolainen.
“I’m excited to get to know him, potentially play with him,” Sanheim said. “I know our forwards have hated to play against him and go up against him every night. So if he can bring that to our side, it can be a great pair.”
Loading...
-
Ep 30: Nazem Kadri; Lightning Advance; Rust Re-Signsby Full Press Coverage on May 25, 2022 at 1:10 am
Jim and Chris discuss Nazem Kadri's big night, the Lightning advancing […]
-
Ep 29: Stanley Cup Playoffs; Maple Leafs Collapse; End Of An Era For Penguinsby Full Press Coverage on May 18, 2022 at 4:31 am
Mike, Jim, and Chris discuss the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, […]
-
Ep 28: NHL Draft Lottery; Stanley Cup; Islanders Coaching Situationby Full Press Coverage on May 11, 2022 at 1:13 am
Jim Biringer and Chris Wassel discuss the results of the NHL Draft […]
-
Ep 27: Golden Knights Fall Flat; Canucks Stay Aliveby Full Press Coverage on April 20, 2022 at 3:05 am
The Vegas Golden Knights had a chance to close the gap, but fell flat […]
-
Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2 Previewby Full Press Coverage on May 18, 2022 at 12:00 pm
Jim is back once again discussing the 2nd round of the 2022 Stanley Cup […]
-
Ep 28: Toronto Maple Leafs, Stanley Cup Playoffs Talkby Full Press Coverage on May 8, 2022 at 12:00 pm
Jim is joined by Lex Tan of Sauga 960 to discuss the Toronto Maple […]
-
Ep 73: Bruins Face Elimination; Bruce Cassidy On Hot Seat; Patrice Bergeron Final Standby Full Press Coverage on May 12, 2022 at 4:00 pm
Ian and Chris discuss game six between the Bruins and Hurricanes and the […]
-
Ep 72: Bruins Acquire Hampus Lindholm; More Moves To Come?by Full Press Coverage on March 20, 2022 at 3:34 pm
Ian and Chris discuss the trade of Hampus Lindholm to the Bruins and what […]
-
S3Ep29 - Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Round 2 Stanley Cup Playoffs Talkby Jim Biringer on May 22, 2022 at 8:00 pm
Jim is joined by Marc Weiss and Coach Jay as they discuss Round 2 of the […]
-
S3Ep28 - Stanley Cup Playoff Game 7 Talk, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangersby Jim Biringer on May 15, 2022 at 1:08 pm
Jim is joined by Marc Weiss and Coach Jay in discussing the five Game7s in […]
-
Episode #381 - The 2022 NHL Spicy Second Roundby Full Press Coverage on May 23, 2022 at 2:50 pm
The 2nd round of the NHL playoffs is well under way and things are getting […]
-
Episode #380 - The 2022 NHL Playoffs - Second Roundby Full Press Coverage on May 17, 2022 at 2:30 am
After FIVE!!! game 7's in the first round of the playoffs, the 2nd round […]
-
Episode #379 - The 2022 NHL Playoffs - First Roundby Full Press Coverage on May 10, 2022 at 2:02 am
The NHL playoffs are well underway and the series are definitely not going […]
-
Episode #102: French or Silenceby Full Press Coverage on May 21, 2022 at 5:46 am
The AHL Divisional Semifinals have concluded, and now, only eight teams […]
-
Episode #101: Playoff Post Mortemby Full Press Coverage on May 17, 2022 at 6:11 am
The 2022 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs are in full swing, with (almost) two […]
-
Episode #102: French or Silenceby Full Press Coverage on May 21, 2022 at 5:46 am
The AHL Divisional Semifinals have concluded, and now, only eight teams […]
-
Episode #101: Playoff Post Mortemby Full Press Coverage on May 17, 2022 at 6:11 am
The 2022 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs are in full swing, with (almost) two […]
-
Ep 60: #KrejciForever and Raised Expectationsby Full Press Coverage on May 4, 2021 at 9:23 pm
Ian and Chris talk about the Bruins post trade deadline turnaround and […]
-
Ep 59: Bruins Swing Big At Trade Deadlineby Full Press Coverage on April 12, 2021 at 9:48 pm
Ian and Chris welcome in Mike Cratty to discuss the trade acquisitions of […]
-
5/25 - Texas Tragedy; Celtics/Heat Game Fiveby Full Press Coverage on May 25, 2022 at 7:21 pm
Ian and John react to the tragic school shooting in Texas. In addition, […]
-
Which Athlete Do You Want To See Roasted?by Full Press Coverage on May 24, 2022 at 2:40 pm
Ian and John discuss the upcoming Tom Brady roast and which athlete they […]
-
Warriors Take Commanding Lead; How Can The Celtics Rebound? (5/23)by Full Press Coverage on May 23, 2022 at 3:37 pm
Ian and John discuss the Warriors commanding 3-0 series lead over the […]
-
5/23 - Red Sox; NBA Playoffs; Tom Brady Roastby Full Press Coverage on May 23, 2022 at 3:32 pm
Ian and John discuss the Red Sox recent surge, the Warriors lead over the […]