January 06, 2016
Finally, the Vinny Lecavalier era has come to an end for the Philadelphia Flyers.
General manager Ron Hextall traded Lecavalier and defenseman Luke Schenn to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Jordan Weal and a third-round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Hextall was able to ship Lecavalier, who hadn’t cracked the lineup since November 11th, in part because he agreed to eat half of both players’ remaining salaries.
Flyers are retaining 50% of both Lecavalier and Schenn's salaries.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) January 6, 2016
The good news for the Flyers is that they will likely be out of both contracts after the season ends, because Schenn’s deal (with a $3.6 million cap hit) expires at the end of the year and Lecavalier, per his agent, plans to retire with two years left on his deal. For a team like the Flyers that has been so restricted by the salary cap as of late, the implications of the move are massive if Lecavalier retires.
Lecavalier's agent Kent Hughes confirms his client Vincent Lecavalier will retire at the end of the season, forgoing final 2 yrs of his deal
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) January 6, 2016
Ultimately (if Lecavalier retires) Flyers shed $7.5m for next season and get a 2016 3rd for Luke Schenn & VL.
— Ryan Bright (@philabright) January 6, 2016
In return, the Flyers get a player in Weal who has zero points in ten career NHL games that all have come this season. Last season, the 23-year-old was the MVP of the AHL’s Calder Cup playoffs.
Scout report on new Flyer Jordan Weal: very shifty player, great offensive IQ. Reliable defensively in playoffs & was Calder Playoff MVP
— Billy Jaffe (@BJaffe) January 6, 2016
Regardless of how Weal and the third-round pick do in orange and black, the Flyers made this deal for financial reasons. And as long as Lecavalier retires at the end of the year, it looks like Ron Hextall has struck again.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
