David Clarkson, Top Free Agents Aren’t the Answer for Flyers

There are two adjectives that NHL organizations often claim to be a part of their management blueprint- “bigger” and “faster.”

During the end-of-year locker cleanout, Philadelphia Flyers’ general manager Paul Holmgren told reporters that the organization was looking to rebuild with the former in mind.

Per Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

“We’re always looking to get better on the back end. We’re always looking to get bigger. Those are the areas we’ll tend to focus on.”

This statement has prompted many to ask whether impending free agent wingers David Clarkson or Ryane Clowe would be offseason target for the Flyers.

If either plays into the Flyers’ plans for next season, they will have learned nothing from the management missteps of the 2012 offseason.

While neither forward will garner as much attention as Zach Parise or Ryan Suter did in 2012, both Clarkson and Clowe are at the top of the free agent market list and will certainly be fielding multiple competitive offers from around the league.

Focusing on a handful of “marquis” players could prevent the Flyers from building the depth that they lacked this season as well as hinder them financially ahead of the impending salary cap nightmare that is the 2014 offseason, when Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn and Matt Read will each reach the end of their current contracts.

By signing defenseman Kimmo Timonen to a one-year, $6-million extension last February, the Flyers have already put themselves over the $64.3 million salary cap. A buyout of Danny Briere along with a trade of a Braydon Coburn will free up $11 million, but a chunk of the remaining cap space may be needed for whoever fills that “top defenseman” position.

If the Flyers target defensemen such as Keith Yandle, Dustin Byfuglien or Tyler Myers, they are looking at cap hits anywhere from $5.2 million to $5.75 million.

Clarkson, 29, currently makes $2.67 million. Clowe, 31, is at the end of a contract with a $3.625 million cap hit. A basic understanding of how free agent markets work would suggest that they will earn upwards of $4 million or more in the offseason. That’s not saying each is worth that amount, but if Ville Leino can earn a $27 million contract in the free market, these hired guns could easily pull the same.

Assuming the aforementioned moves with Coburn and Briere occur and the Flyers choose not to place Chris Pronger or Marc-Andre Bourdon on long-term injury reserve at the start of the season, the Flyers will have approximately $7.1 million to fill the roster with a top defenseman, a seventh defenseman, a third line winger and a thirteenth forward.

Finding that “missing defenseman” won’t be easy, and wasting time chasing top free agent wingers with unnecessary contracts would just set the team back further.

Should the organization elect to fill the third line winger position with a “bigger” forward through free agency, they would be better served focusing on “under the radar” forwards that shouldn’t warrant nearly as much attention but provide the same level of depth.

Two forwards that come to mind that would fit this criteria are Bryan Bickell and Viktor Stalberg of the Chicago Blackhawks.

The ‘Hawks are not nearly in as bad of a shape as the Flyers and may be able to sign both in the offseason, but they are still close to the salary cap.

Bickell, 27, is a 6’-4” right shooting winger that currently makes $542,000. When he is used in an offensive zone role, he’s good for around 15-20 goals. When he was used as a defensive forward (as was the case in the 2011-12 season), he only potted 9 goals. However a team chooses to use him, he performs a versatile role.

Stalberg, 27, is a 6’-3” left shooting sniper that currently makes $875,000. He is used almost exclusively in an offensive role and has one season under his belt where he broke the 20-goal mark.

Neither player will drop the gloves in the way Clarkson or Wayne Simmonds will, but then that’s what having Zac Rinaldo or Jay Rosehill in the line-up is for.

The alternative is to look within the organization for players they already have. Tye McGinn played well before he broke his orbital bone in a fight and then found himself in-and-out of the line-up when he was finally recalled back to the team.

Even if he’s the thirteenth forward out of training camp, McGinn fits the “bigger” criteria at 6′-2″ and 200 lbs while only costing $775,000 against the salary cap. Expecting him to pot ten goals isn’t unrealistic, nor is it far off from the production they will likely find in free agency.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to “get bigger,” but there are smarter ways to approach that blueprint than looking to David Clarkson or any of the other top free agents available.