Originally Posted by sentium

No, if a player is 35 years or older when he signs a contract, that contract can't come off the books. It will count against the cap no matter what. The only workaround is if the player doesn't retire and is continually placed on LTIR year after year. Then the team is allowed to go over the cap for as much as the contract is worth, but the contract still counts. This LTIR workaround doesn't work during the offseason, so the Flyers are effectively handcuffed 5 million before the season starts.

Originally Posted by blog

When Pronger signed the contract in September 2009, he was 34 years old. He turned 35 the next month on October 14. However, when he signed the contract, he was 34 years old. So if Pronger retired, whatever would be left on his contract would not count against the cap - right?

Wrong.

That same Article 50.2 says that a player's age when he signed the contract isn't his age when he put pen to paper. Rather, it's his age "as of June 30 prior to the League Year" in which his new contract takes effect.

While Pronger signed his contract when he was 34 years old, he turned 35 in October - which is well before the June 30 date. So that means that Pronger was deemed to be 35 when his contract kicked in.

Consequently, as per Article 50.2, if Pronger retires his salary will still count as against the cap because he was 35 when he signed the contract.

Originally Posted by fungchen3

Pronger will not play again. Whether he retires or not is a different story. Apparently, his house in Philly is up for sale. Maybe he's planning on returning to St. Louis or Cali to relax and rehab?

Originally Posted by SeaDawg

I'm very curious to see what Philly does. They are on the hook for the money, no matter what, and now they have a huge hole to fill on their defense.

Although I agree on the 35+ contact signing rule, Pronger is clearly injured and could have played for at least another 2 or 3 years at a high level. It seems unfair that the Flyers can't get his contract off the books so that they can find a replacement of sorts.

Originally Posted by fungchen3

As long as he makes an effort to heal and return to the NHL, the Flyers can (and will) place him on LTIR and insurance will pick up his salary and it will NOT count against the Flyers cap.

Originally Posted by sentium

It counts against the cap but at different stages of the year it's possible to get cap relief. During the season he can be put on LTIR and they get cap relief. However, they can't sidestep his cap hit during the offseason.