What's Next for Philadelphia Flyers After Jakub Voracek Extension?

The Philadelphia Flyers took care of business by inking top winger Jakub Voracek to an eight-year contract extension worth $66 million on Thursday, and it was a fiscally sane transaction from a team with a history of spending money on the wrong players.

The team announced the deal on Twitter, and it was confirmed by former beat writer and current TSN reporter Frank Seravalli that Voracek will carry a $8.25 million cap hit starting in 2016-17.

The deal for Voracek was a necessary one because he is one of their top offensive players, and signing him solidifies the top line for the foreseeable future.

With Voracek under contract, the Flyers can start looking at the roster with intense scrutiny, as the franchise will have to make some changes down the line to free up some cap space. Philadelphia has its top players locked up for the future, but they are going to need others to become an elite contender. Depth is certainly an important quality, as it has been the difference between what Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have achieved, and what Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin haven't.

Major decisions will likely come after the season starts, because it will take new head coach Dave Hakstol some time to assess which players are a fit for his system. That doesn't mean that the Flyers shouldn't do some preliminary work toward looking at where they can improve talent and reduce unnecessary salary expenditures, so let us first take a look at what the Flyers' top three forward lines could look like at the start of the 2015-16 campaign. 

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Brayden Schenn	Claude Giroux	Jakub Voracek
Michael Raffl	Sean Couturier	Wayne Simmonds
Matt Read	??? (Ryan White)	Sam Gagner

The Flyers' top line features two of the top offensive players in the Eastern Conference, and budding forward Brayden Schenn has a chance to take his game to the next level as a full-fledged member on the top line. Schenn was once considered the top prospect in the NHL, and although he hasn't lived up to that level of hype, he's been a solid contributor.

Schenn is coming off a career year in which he had a career-high 47 points and tallied 18 goals. His contract is up for renewal at the end of the year, and he currently makes $2.5 million against the cap. 

The second line is one that could change a bit, but at the very least it will feature Sean Couturier and Wayne Simmonds. As SI.com noted, Couturier just signed a contract extension that will pay him $4.33 million a year for the six years starting in 2016-17. He tallied 37 points last year, but was arguably the Flyers' best defensive center in all three zones.

Simmonds is coming of a year in which he appeared in 75 games but was still able to score 28 goals and finish with 50 points. He has been a major asset to the team, and his physicality has made him a fan favorite in Philly.

The third man on this line could be someone such as Michael Raffl, Matt Read or Sam Gagner, but this should be Raffl's job to lose.

Raffl is coming off a season in which he scored 21 goals, although a shooting percentage of 15.7 percent suggests he could be in for some regression. That doesn't change the fact that he is a good second-line scorer with a nose for the net, but it simply allows fans to curb their expectations.

With Raffl on the second line, that leaves Gagner and the aforementioned Read on the third line with the third man as a question mark for now. 

It's not clear what position Gagner is going to play in Philadelphia, but he is more than capable at playing center or right wing. If he lines up on the wing you could pencil in a pivot such as Ryan White, because he has just a bit more offensive skill than Chris VandeVelde.

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

VandeVelde had nine goals and 15 points in 72 games in 2014-15, and White had six goals and 12 points in just 34 games.

The Flyers acquired Gagner on the cheap from the Arizona Coyotes; he's a player who could be signed to a nice extension if he produces.

In due time the role of third-line center should be filled by 2012 first-rounder Scott Laughton, but he may see some time in the AHL to start the season after struggling a bit in 31 NHL games last season. Laughton is a physical forward with offensive potential, but he just needs more experience playing with older and more talented players than he has been used to.

Danny Moloshok/Associated Press

In short,  the Flyers don't need to make any additions at forward in the immediate future, but there is some room for adjustment. What the Flyers' brain trust needs to identify is whether or not the team has a long-term solution on the left wing.

At the end of the 2015-16 season Raffl is a free agent, and Matt Read has to show he can bounce back. Raffl is coming off a successful season from a goal scoring perspective, so teams would pay him more than the $1.1 million he's currently making. Read struggled last year after signing a new contract, and his $3.9 million salary could become a burden if he doesn't score 20 or more goals.

This isn't as big of an issue because of the Flyers' strength and center and right wing, but it would be ideal to have a complete trio of forwards that enables Philadelphia to match up with some of the more established teams in the league.

The next area of interest for Philadelphia is the blue line, and it is something that should be addressed sooner rather than later. The Flyers have a significant amount of money tied to their defense, and there is no reason they should be spending as much as they are.

D1	D2
Mark Streit	Michael Del Zotto
Luke Schenn	Andrew McDonald
Yevgeni Medvedev	Nick Schultz
Radko Gudas

Philadelphia is loaded with highly skilled and bright prospects—with cheap contracts—who have had success in Juniors and the AHL. While it makes sense that general manager Ron Hextall doesn't want to rush his players before they are ready, there is no reason to have Andrew McDonald at $5 million and Luke Schenn at $3.6 million if you could have Shayne Gostisbehere for $925,000 and Sam Morin for $863,333. 

I don't expect the Flyers to cut bait with some of their veteran defenders early on, but don't be surprised if the young players play well enough to force management to create space for them on the roster.

The Flyers' situation in net is set as Steve Mason will once again be the starter. Michal Neuvirth was signed at the start of free agency to be Mason's backup, and he has the potential to be a very cost-effective player for the Flyers. Neuvirth played well for a really bad Buffalo Sabres team while posting a .918 save percentage, and he'll certainly have more support on Broad Street.

The majority of the players on the roster have been spoken for thus far, and those who weren't haven't been mentioned for good reason. Philadelphia has to take action with some players currently on the roster, because the team is headed down a slippery slope. 

Frank Seravalli pointed out that the Flyers have saddled a ton of money on their books for the 2016-17 season, and filling out the remained of the roster could get difficult. The Flyers essentially have $9.1 million tied up in dead space between R.J. Umberger and Vincent Lecavalier, as both players are too slow to be effective anymore. 

Umberger was acquired in a 2014 deal that sent Scott Hartnell to the Columbus Blue Jackets, a move that still doesn't make much sense. He is a player who would probably clear waivers, but the Wade Redden rule caps the amount of salary that can be buried in the minors. It would be in Philadelphia's best interest to send him to a team in need or reaching the salary-cap floor, because his deal doesn't have any red tape.

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Lecavalier, on the other hand, has a longer deal, and it contains a no-movement clause. The deal is also an over-35 contract, so if he were to retire early there would be some horrific financial ramifications. There's a chance he could be open to accepting a trade to a team where he will receive what he deems to be a fair amount of ice time, but I am not sure there are teams willing to take on Lecavalier at full price. Ideally the Flyers want to rid themselves of his entire cap hit, but half of his salary would be better than his full salary.

The Flyers were very smart to take care of Voracek and not have his impending free agency looming like a dark cloud, but there is still some work to be done. There are prospects in the system who can help make an impact soon, and there are opportunities for players such as Sam Gagner, Michael Raffl and Matt Read to play a big role.

There is uncertainty with veterans such as R.J. Umberger and Vincent Lecavalier having bloated contracts, and the Flyers may have to get creative. The franchise is moving in the right direction, and there is reason to believe that Philadelphia is a move or two away from becoming one of the tougher teams in the Eastern Conference. Time and time again Steve Mason has shown he can be the difference-maker by standing on his head, and that is something that always gives Philly a chance.

There's a lot to like about the Flyers' forward group, and there are some things not to like about the defense. All in all the team should be better in 2015-16, but it is going to be a dog fight to secure a playoff spot when you consider that divisional rivals such as the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals all got significantly better this summer.

The Flyers have had a good summer to date, and with Voracek's extension out of the way there should be nothing in the way of seeking ways to improve the rest of the roster.

Financial information via General Fanager. Stats via Hockey-Reference.com.