July 01, 2016
Just like in the NBA, crazy money was being thrown around at the start of NHL free agency. According to the NHL Network, $284 million was given out in just the first 30 minutes.
And just like in the NBA, Philadelphia sat out of the initial frenzy. Eventually, the Flyers did ink winger Dale Weise to a four-year contract with an AAV of $2.35 million. The deal was first reported by Bob McKenzie and then confirmed by Elliotte Friedman:
Dale Weise is going to PHI
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2016
Not sure what is or isn't out there, but Weise's deal in PHI is four years, $9.4M total, which if my feeble math is right, $2.35M AAV.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 1, 2016
Throughout his career, the 27-year-old Weise played for the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, and Chicago Blackhawks. Splitting time between Chicago and Montreal last season, he had 27 points in 71 games.
A fourth-line type, the Weise signing seems to put unrestricted free agent Ryan White’s status in question. According to General Fanager, the Flyers now have $9,578,334 of cap space with 18 players (10 F, 6 D, 2 G) signed to NHL contracts.
“I like the fit in Philly. Ron Hextall called me right away and I liked the fit.” Dale Weise on TSN
— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) July 1, 2016
Weise said 10-12 teams were interested. “A four-year term for me was big."
— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) July 1, 2016
The Flyers probably would’ve liked to add a better goalscorer, but the money simply wasn’t there. Flyers general manager Ron Hextall had foreshadowed the first day of free agency after the season ended.
“You got to be really careful not to get too excited on July 1st and then kind of look back and go, ‘What are we going to do?’ the season after next with player X, Y, and Z,” Hextall said.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
