Contract Termination: [PHI] F Ryan Johansen placed on waivers by the Flyers for the purpose of contract termination (Johansen grieving)

Rich Nixon

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I can't believe I'm defending the Flyers, but Gauthier has done enough to muddy his reputation on his own, with or without the alleged "smear campaign."

If I'm another agent, I'd hope my client isn't an immature ass clown like Gauthier, but his type seems to be more and more common these days.

As for the death threats, that's some lunatic fans thatre found in probably half if not all of the league. And those psychopaths are probably doing that dumb shit just for him refusing to sign, again with or without the alleged "smear campaign"

Basically all we have from Gauthier is his dumbass comment before the NCAA National Championship, which is very consistent with the cocky personality that the Flyers themselves said they liked when they drafted him.

Again, he might be a prick. But everything else about him being "an immature ass clown" comes from Flyers management. Gauthier has said next to nothing about the entire situation. He made his choice and communicated it in May 2023. The Flyers spent 8 months begging him to reconsider. I don't for a second begrudge a player for refusing to meet with uninvited representatives of a company that has already been informed not to contact him.

It frankly doesn't matter who the player is how they comport themselves: any accurate recap of events points back to them waiting too long to fire an incompetent GM (Fletcher) and throwing a complete newbie (Briere) into a very complicated, high-stakes negotiation just days into the job, and that conversation going awry.

For a team trying to restore credibility within its own market, reminding people of that messy period in their recent history would have been embarrassing. So instead they literally scripted a lie and sent their CEO, President, and GM onto their own captive broadcast outlets all at once to repeat it. Yes, that's a smear campaign. There's nothing else to call it.
 

Beukeboom Fan

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It's implicitly believed the Flyers reneged on a pretty major promise, but I didn't cite that because I couldn't nail down a hard source for it—try to offer some analysis based on established reporting. But yes, he wanted to burn year one of his ELC and may have been promised that he'd be able to do that, but Briere had other ideas.
First - great article! It was very well written and articulate! Better than the vast majority of stuff I see online.

On the above paragraph - I might be giving CG too much credit but I try to see what might have happened behind the scenes that would explain how people react. To me, Briere "screwing" CG by going the AHL PTO route instead of burning a year off his ELC has a HUGE negative financial impact to CG. If Fletcher promised to burn a year on ELC and Briere reneged on the that, that kills the relationship and everything makes sense after that. It also makes the Flyers organized media campaign that much more despicable to try and cover their own ass. So even if you don't have a "hard source" for it - that is one of the only explanations I've seen that would pass the "smell test" for what actually happened.
I'd think he'll win his grevience because it's doubtful he made everything up. There's likely a medical report that backs up that there is a nagging issue, and after that it's all the player's discretion as whether it is too severe to be worth playing through or not. That's what went on with Hossa and the league backed him on that.

But I imagine that just like Kane and Perry, the league will let Philly escape from this contract before a final decision is made. Johansen will get his money but under the table and without cap penalty

It is circumvention imo but the league would rather an uncomfortable situation like this get swept under the rug
I am almost certain that the Hawks had to include the cap hit for Perry's pay-out last year. Can't confirm because no CapFriendly (damn you Capitals!).
 
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Rich Nixon

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First - great article! It was very well written and articulate! Better than the vast majority of stuff I see online.

Thank you, I appreciate it! I started a little site to get writing out about the franchise but my own personal life has stunted that for the last month—finally got more on the way though.

The Flyers are one of the most fascinating teams in sports because they're essentially an empty corporate husk trading on their own distant past. Under Snider they were a standard of consistent contention. Snider also invented the first regional sports network and helped pioneer sports talk radio, so the Flyers kinda wrote the book on marketing and narrative-building in a local sports market.

Snider divested and then died and now the guys at the very top are faceless corporate executives who don't know anything about hockey. So the Comcast executives just defer hockey decisions to whatever ex-players have hung around the office. Which meant that many years after he was fired, Bob Clarke was still able to install his ex-protege, Chuck Fletcher, as GM.

When all that blew up, Comcast just fired the last outsider executive and hired a new one who handed the keys to a younger generation of ex-Flyers who hung around the office. Hence, Jones and Briere.

The Flyers constantly find themselves in these confusing player controversies because they're run by people who probably aren't qualified for the jobs they hold, and can't be held accountable because their own bosses don't understand that. Yet because they have entirely controlled their own local media for 45 years, a lot of fans are more than willing to embrace the TUFF, GRITTY, PLAY THE RIGHT WAY bullshit they sell and chalk all their failures and drama up to "Agh, this franchise is cursed! Such bad luck!"

Long-winded way to say: it's a fascinating franchise to write about from a management/corporate perspective. The guy that Snider hand-selected to be his heir, by the way, quit the company when Comcast took over. He then became *Chairman of the Florida Panthers and helped set them up for their transition to contention.

On the above paragraph - I might be giving CG too much credit but I try to see what might have happened behind the scenes that would explain how people react. To me, Briere "screwing" CG by going the AHL PTO route instead of burning a year off his ELC has a HUGE negative financial impact to CG. If Fletcher promised to burn a year on ELC and Briere reneged on the that, that kills the relationship and everything makes sense after that. It also makes the Flyers organized media campaign that much more despicable to try and cover their own ass.

Well, exactly. Think what you want about the player, but these are massive financial decisions for a player to make. One year less of ELC means one more year of your career earning millions down the road. And also, since your career can end at any second at the college level or even below, getting some guaranteed money for your labor as soon as possible makes sense. If Gauthier goes unsigned and then breaks his neck in his sophomore season at BC, his entire life's worth of training is for nothing—he won't see a dime from the game.

Acting like it's entitled or immature for a player to place priority on actually earning money for the dangerous sport they play is some really glib fan bullshit. This is a business. But, the billionaires who own sports teams are incredibly good at convincing fans that the millionaires who play the sports are loathsome greedy brats any time they ask for a piece of the pie.

Anyway. Johanson.
 
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mouser

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I'd think he'll win his grevience because it's doubtful he made everything up. There's likely a medical report that backs up that there is a nagging issue, and after that it's all the player's discretion as whether it is too severe to be worth playing through or not. That's what went on with Hossa and the league backed him on that.

But I imagine that just like Kane and Perry, the league will let Philly escape from this contract before a final decision is made. Johansen will get his money but under the table and without cap penalty

It is circumvention imo but the league would rather an uncomfortable situation like this get swept under the rug

Every termination settlement I’m aware of involved a cap hit. The league’s position on that seems pretty clear.
 

rsteen

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The NHL already has a precedent on this. Contracts are guaranteed against injury which occurred as a result of the player’s employment as a hockey player.

Some example injuries that would be guaranteed:
- Injured on ice or during practice.
- Injured during offseason workouts related to fitness to play hockey.
- Injured in a car accident driving to practice or game day.
- Injured on a NHL road game trip (unless there was some gross negligence by the player)
- Injured at a team charity event.

Some example things that would not be guaranteed:
- Injury in a ATV or car accident which did not involve the player traveling to a covered activity or event.
- Injury in athletic activity not directly related to hockey training/fitness (e.g. Voynov)
- Injury carelessly handling fireworks at a 4th of July party.

If a team believes a player was injured outside the scope of their hockey employment they have the option to suspend the player without pay until the player is fit to play again.

Wonder if Dustin Penner throwing his back out while eating pancakes would be covered.
 
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Every termination settlement I’m aware of involved a cap hit. The league’s position on that seems pretty clear.
This gets into something I find very interesting too. The NHLPA of course has the duty to represent the player and try to get them their money. But the PA also would probably be just as happy if there was no cap impact associated with the settlement, because that would then mean more money was available for other players.

Of the previous similar instances that I just Googled, I think every case where a settlement was reached, the cap hit was lower than the original contract would have caused. (In at least the Perry case, I don't think the $ figure associated with the settlement was ever released publicly, so there may not be any way to determine if the cap hit was representative of the agreed upon payment.)
 

Beukeboom Fan

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This gets into something I find very interesting too. The NHLPA of course has the duty to represent the player and try to get them their money. But the PA also would probably be just as happy if there was no cap impact associated with the settlement, because that would then mean more money was available for other players.
This is the dirty little secret of the cap. After PA contracts >50% of HRR, the PA members are really just taking from each other via escrow. The PA isn't fighting for RJ's money as much as the sanctity of the player contract.
 
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eramosat

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This is the dirty little secret of the cap. After PA contracts >50% of HRR, the PA members are really just taking from each other via escrow. The PA isn't fighting for RJ's money as much as the sanctity of the player contract.
sanctity of the player contract is exactly the violation RJ is probably guilty of.

Traded from a a team, in ok standing re playing time. And then refused all usual team-based options after the trade, based on a brand-new circumstance?

To me, this is a case where the contract has been violated, from the player's side...so for the PA to stand up for anything is pretty tippy-point.
 

Beukeboom Fan

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sanctity of the player contract is exactly the violation RJ is probably guilty of.

Traded from a a team, in ok standing re playing time. And then refused all usual team-based options after the trade, based on a brand-new circumstance?

To me, this is a case where the contract has been violated, from the player's side...so for the PA to stand up for anything is pretty tippy-point.
What teams based options are you referring to?

Do you have any experience with unions? In my experience they defend their members regardless of facts and circumstances.
 

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Did anyone mention evander kane and the sharks? They did the same thing and they did not receive any cap penalty for it. I never heard the specifics but it seems like the NHL treated it as legit but it never came out why
 

irishsetter13

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Did anyone mention evander kane and the sharks? They did the same thing and they did not receive any cap penalty for it. I never heard the specifics but it seems like the NHL treated it as legit but it never came out why
Actually they retroactively added a caphit to the sharks for that season that was difference between his contract and what the oilers were paying him.

 

Aeroforce

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Thank you, I appreciate it! I started a little site to get writing out about the franchise but my own personal life has stunted that for the last month—finally got more on the way though.

The Flyers are one of the most fascinating teams in sports because they're essentially an empty corporate husk trading on their own distant past. Under Snider they were a standard of consistent contention. Snider also invented the first regional sports network and helped pioneer sports talk radio, so the Flyers kinda wrote the book on marketing and narrative-building in a local sports market.

Snider divested and then died and now the guys at the very top are faceless corporate executives who don't know anything about hockey. So the Comcast executives just defer hockey decisions to whatever ex-players have hung around the office. Which meant that many years after he was fired, Bob Clarke was still able to install his ex-protege, Chuck Fletcher, as GM.

When all that blew up, Comcast just fired the last outsider executive and hired a new one who handed the keys to a younger generation of ex-Flyers who hung around the office. Hence, Jones and Briere.

The Flyers constantly find themselves in these confusing player controversies because they're run by people who probably aren't qualified for the jobs they hold, and can't be held accountable because their own bosses don't understand that. Yet because they have entirely controlled their own local media for 45 years, a lot of fans are more than willing to embrace the TUFF, GRITTY, PLAY THE RIGHT WAY bullshit they sell and chalk all their failures and drama up to "Agh, this franchise is cursed! Such bad luck!"

Long-winded way to say: it's a fascinating franchise to write about from a management/corporate perspective. The guy that Snider hand-selected to be his heir, by the way, quit the company when Comcast took over. He just won the Cup as CEO of the Florida Panthers.



Well, exactly. Think what you want about the player, but these are massive financial decisions for a player to make. One year less of ELC means one more year of your career earning millions down the road. And also, since your career can end at any second at the college level or even below, getting some guaranteed money for your labor as soon as possible makes sense. If Gauthier goes unsigned and then breaks his neck in his sophomore season at BC, his entire life's worth of training is for nothing—he won't see a dime from the game.

Acting like it's entitled or immature for a player to place priority on actually earning money for the dangerous sport they play is some really glib fan bullshit. This is a business. But, the billionaires who own sports teams are incredibly good at convincing fans that the millionaires who play the sports are loathsome greedy brats any time they ask for a piece of the pie.

Anyway. Johanson.
Agreed, that was an excellent article.

I follow the Flyers as a secondary team, and look forward to reading more.
 

Laus723

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write about from a management/corporate perspective. The guy that Snider hand-selected to be his heir, by the way, quit the company when Comcast took over. He just won the Cup as CEO of the Florida Panthers.
The whole post was an interesting read…but, who are you talking about here? Matthew Caldwell is the CEO and was a military officer and president at Goldman Sachs, then worked for Viola’s companies. Havent seen anything about a Flyer connection.
 
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rsteen

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This gets into something I find very interesting too. The NHLPA of course has the duty to represent the player and try to get them their money. But the PA also would probably be just as happy if there was no cap impact associated with the settlement, because that would then mean more money was available for other players.
The settlement would come out of the players's 50% either way would it not? Being off the cap would just mean an increase to escrow.
 

1865

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Ah yes, a lad that was told the team was going to do one thing, then a new bloke took over and changed his mind and for an entire year he told them he wasn't interested in being on the team, so naturally at the WJC where most teams tell the NHL not to bother them, he goes and bothers him and then plays the victim to the media.

You seem fairly clued up on this, what did the Flyers change their mind on and how do you know to be so sure?
 

ponder719

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The whole post was an interesting read…but, who are you talking about here? Matthew Caldwell is the CEO and was a military officer and president at Goldman Sachs, then worked for Viola’s companies. Havent seen anything about a Flyer connection.

Rich got the title slightly wrong, you're looking for former Executive Chairman Peter Luukko.

...Who needs a Wikipedia update; they still show him with the Panthers, but apparently he's now with Oak View Group's Arena Alliance. He appears to have left the Panthers in 2019.
 

Laus723

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Rich got the title slightly wrong, you're looking for former Executive Chairman Peter Luukko.

...Who needs a Wikipedia update; they still show him with the Panthers, but apparently he's now with Oak View Group's Arena Alliance. He appears to have left the Panthers in 2019.

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, pretty sure Luukko left around the time Tallon did, but did positive things while here iirc.
 
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Curufinwe

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Actually they retroactively added a caphit to the sharks for that season that was difference between his contract and what the oilers were paying him.

This is what I assume the Flyers were happy to pay for Johansen: $1,333,333 for 24-25 and 25-26.

Cap Hit Calculations​

SEASONINITIAL BASE SALARYINITIAL CAP HITSIGNING BONUSBUYOUT COSTPOST-BUYOUT EARNINGSSAVINGSCAP HIT (
Logo of the Philadelphia Flyers

PHI)
CAP HIT (
Logo of the Nashville Predators

NSH)
2024-25$8,000,000$8,000,000$0$2,666,667$2,666,667$5,333,333$1,333,334$1,333,334
2025-26$0$0$0$2,666,667$2,666,667-$2,666,667$1,333,334$1,333,334
TOTAL$8,000,000$8,000,000$0$5,333,333$5,333,333$2,666,667$2,666,668 (50%)$2,666,668 (50%)
 

Rich Nixon

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The whole post was an interesting read…but, who are you talking about here? Matthew Caldwell is the CEO and was a military officer and president at Goldman Sachs, then worked for Viola’s companies. Havent seen anything about a Flyer connection.

*Chairman. Peter Luukko.
 
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sxvnert

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Flyers could have easily let him not report to the minors which would have resulted in zero income after the suspension. Instead they do him a solid and he grieves it lol.
 

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