O'Donnell Off to Philly

The Flyers continue to be busy with their blueline and their back end, now having signed veteran defenseman Sean O'Donnell to a new 1-year deal, said to be worth $1 million as a base salary and having some games played bonuses as well. For now, we'll call it a cap hit of $1 million.  O'Donnell will bring his solid defensive play to a team that is stocking up on blueliners and making a bigger wall in front of Michael Leighton or Brian Boucher, who ever wants to be the number one in Philly next season.

O'Donnell played with the Kings in 2010, picking up 3 goals and 12 assists in 78 games with the club, but is more well-known for his defensive prowess and responsible play.  He could be a nice compliment to either Braydon Coburn, who re-signed today or Andrej Meszaros, who they acquired in a trade today.  Both blueliners like to jump up in the play and would need someone solid to look after their rear, just in case.

I now have the Flyers with the highest current cap number among all 30 teams, which shouldn't come as a shock, given how much they have done already at the opening of free agency.  They now have 18 players signed on for $56.9 million, edging ahead of the Flames by $1 million and with one less player.  The Flyers now have $2.5 million in remaining cap space, in terms of just player totals, not counting anything outstanding otherwise.