Powe earned $725,000 last season. He probably was looking for a raise to somewhere in the $1 million neighborhood. Nothing earth-shattering.
Earlier in the day, Holmgren announced that the Flyers had come to a new, 2-year agreement with fellow restricted free agent Andreas Nodl for $845,000 per year. That's interesting, because it's a $5,000 pay cut from what Nodl earned last year, despite finishing his first full NHL season with 22 points.
Holmgren finished off the day by not extending a qualifying offer to restricted free-agent forward Dan Carcillo, meaning Carcillo will become an unrestricted free agent on Friday.
Notice a trend? Something doesn't add up.
The Flyers, who have plenty of wiggle room now, with Richards and Carter off the books, are stockpiling money. And it doesn't mean that they won't spend to the gills this year.
Holmgren got incredible value for a player he didn't think was worth the money he was asking for with a third-round pick, but since when is one of the "most underrated players in the league" suddenly not worth an extra $300K or $400K?
Carcillo's qualifying offer wouldn't have needed to be much more than a slight raise.
As it stands now, with negotiations in the works for Ville Leino and restricted free agents Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek, the Flyers have approximately $8.3 million in salary-cap space, with Michael Leighton stashed in the AHL.
That's enough to do some serious damage on the free-agent market. Or, if you're reading the tea leaves along with me, maybe even the restricted free-agent market.
Two different team sources reiterated last night that the Flyers would be very interested in Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos if he remains on the market on Friday morning.
Reports indicated that the Lightning and Stamkos' agents have had ongoing discussions, though that doesn't say much, knowing that the sides have been talking for more than a month.
