Flyers Weekly Mailbag: Forecasting the cap for 2020 & 2021

Let's go Flyers duh-duh-duh-duh-duh, Let's go Flyers duh-duh-duh-duh-duh. We're almost there Flyers fans. In less than a month Rookie Camp, and Training Camp begins. Without further delay, here are our answers to your questions.

Talks with both players have stalled due to the market, and talks with the Provorov camp haven't been going well for the past month anyway. The Flyers and Konecny were talking last week, but now they have stalled, according to Brent Flahr. I remain hopeful that both players will re-sign before training camp begins, and look for Konecny to re-sign by the end of the month. Provorov will sign right before Camp begins (hopefully), as Zach Werenski and Charlie McAvoy are comparables to Provorov. Moreover, it looks like they are waiting for each other to re-sign first, so it becomes a case of who will budge first. I do however believe Provorov will re-sign a few days before camp begins.

Talks with Provorov haven't gone well for the past month. The Flyers and Provorov have not talked at all this past month. However, Brent Flahr remains optimistic that Provorov will re-sign before camp begins.

The Flyers are handcuffed by the Provorov situation, that they cannot move a defenseman at this time, in the event Provorov holds out. Even though, I believe Provorov will re-sign, it's still a gamble to trade a defenseman with him not under contract yet.

Sean Couturier is such a great player, and a class act for the city of Philadelphia. The guy gives his all on a nightly basis, and he deserves more respect throughout the NHL. Back to back 30 goal seasons, and back-to-back Selke candidate seasons. Yet, somehow he is left off the Top 20 Centers list, according to NHL Network. All I can say is wow...R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Out of all the young prospects that will try to crack the lineup this fall. I believe Joel Farabee will win a spot in the end. Farabee will blow the doors off training camp, and the Flyers will use him for a nine-game tryout. Moreover, Farabee is slide rule eligible, meaning he cannot play in more than 10 NHL games this season, in order for the Flyers to not burn a year off his ELC. The Flyers could send Farabee to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms before his 10th game for the rest of the season to preserve a year of his ELC.

The Flyers are very high on both Felix Sandstrom and Kirill Usitmenko. Even though, Ustimenko will more than likely make a good impression at camp. He is likely to be shifted to the ECHL, and start his career by playing with the Reading Royals.

With that being said, Sandstrom figures to be the guy between the pipes for the Phantoms. However, at least to start we would have to assume that Alex Lyon will carry some of the load early for the Phantoms, with Sandstrom getting some starts. Fletcher did say he wants to give Sandstrom as much playing time as possible. Let's not forget about the newly acquired Jean-Francois Berube. He will get some spot starts, as well.

In the event of injury to either Carter Hart or Brian Elliott. The first call-up, in my opinion, is Berube. Berube has NHL experience, and I think Fletcher would like Lyon to mentor Sandstrom. Lyon knows the Phantoms very well, so I would think he is a better fit to aide Sandstrom. The Flyers will likely keep Sandstrom with the Phantoms for the entire season, and that may be one main reason they acquired Berube.

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

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Here's a break down of the next few seasons of Flyers RFA's and UFA's, with cap space, as well:

2020 UFA's:

Justin Braun- $3.8 million

Brian Elliott- $2 million

Tyler Pitlick- $1 million

Alex Lyon- $750,000

Kurtis Gabriel- $750,000

Kyle Criscuolo- $700,000

Jean-Francis Berube- $700,000

TJ Brennan- $675,000

Andy Welinski- $750,000

The Flyers will have approximately $26.65 million in cap space before re-signing the UFA's or the RFA'S, of course assuming the Flyers are against the cap at the end of the 2019-20 season. The cap should be set at $83 million. Moreover, Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny will require more money after they re-sign their new contracts in the coming weeks, so this cap number will be lower than what it is slated for now.

2020 RFA's:

Nolan Patrick

Robert Hagg

Oskar Lindblom

Philippe Myers

Mikhail Vorobyov

Mark Friedman

Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Reese Wilcox

Fletcher will have his hands full with Lindblom, Patrick, and Myers in need of raises. Of course, it all depends on how these players are used, and are also performance-based. However, I believe Patrick, Lindblom, and Myers will only get better this season.

Again Fletcher seems to be in good shape with some NHL ready prospects, so adding a quality free agent or two should not be a problem.

2021 UFA's:

Matt Niskanen- $5.75 million

Scott Laughton- $2.3 million

Michael Raffl- $1.6 million

Andy Andreoff- $750,000

Nate Prosser- $700,000

Tyler Wotherspoon- $700,000

The Flyers will have approximately $43.498 million in cap space before re-signing the UFA's or the RFA'S, of course assuming the Flyers are against the cap at the end of the 2020-21 season. The cap should also be set at $83 million. Again, Provorov and Konecny will require more money after they re-sign their new contracts in the coming weeks, so this cap number will be lower than what it is slated for now.

2021 RFA's:

Travis Sanheim

Carter Hart

Samuel Morin

German Rubtsov

Felix Sandstrom

Pascal Laberge

Carsen Twarynski

David Kase

Connor Bunnaman

Chris Bigras

Fletcher will have his hands full with Sanheim, Hart, Rubtsov, and possibly Morin in need of raises. Of course, it all depends on how these players are used, and are also performance-based.

Again Fletcher seems to be in good shape with some NHL ready prospects, so adding a quality free agent should not be a problem once again. Also, the Expansion Draft is a good way to free up some cap space from a heavy contract. The Flyers could very well expose Jakub Voracek or James Van Riemsdyk, hoping that Seattle would scoop one of them up for more cap relief.

Talks with the Provorov camp haven't been going well for the past month. The Flyers and TK were talking last week, but now they have stalled, according to Brent Flahr. I remain hopeful that both players will re-sign before training camp begins, and look for TK to re-sign by the end of the month. Provorov, on the other hand, will sign right before camp begins (hopefully), as Zach Werenski and Charlie McAvoy are comparables to Provorov. Moreover, it looks like they are waiting for each other to re-sign first, so it becomes a case of who will budge first. I do believe Provorov in fact re-signs a few days before camp begins.

Talks with the Provorov camp haven't been going well for the past month, according to Brent Flahr. Provorov will sign right before camp begins (hopefully), as Zach Werenski and Charlie McAvoy are comparables to Provorov. Moreover, it looks like they are waiting for each other to re-sign first, so it becomes a case of who will budge first. I do believe Provorov in fact re-signs a few days before camp begins. Lettttttttttttttttttttttttttts gooooo Flyerssssssss. Noah is pumped.

In no shape or form do I see Nolan Patrick overtaking Kevin Hayes for the second line Center position this season, if Hayes remains healthy all year. Patrick needs at least one more season or more to prove he is capable of shouldering the load as a second line Center. Let's be patient with Patrick, and let him grow into that spot. I believe in Patrick, so let's see what happens this season.

If you would like to see your questions submitted in our weekly mailbag. Just submit your question on our Facebook page or on Twitter using #Flyersmail. Thanks to all the fans for another great mailbag, and Let’s go Flyers. Without your support, we wouldn’t be here today.

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports