[News] Matt Niskanen retires

[TheScorpion]

This would clear up a lot of space for Philly

https://twitter.com/user/status/1313171423322660864

[Vinny01]

Flyers could potentially make a Gaudreau trade and not have to send a contract like Ghost back. It seems like Philly is linked more to Laine than Johnny though.

[TheScorpion]

Friedman updates it more definitively:

https://twitter.com/user/status/1313173193876701184

[3thirty]

Retire and gives up 5.75 million. I'm sure a role a with the team will be announced down the road.

[agulati]

Solid career. 949 games played. Won a cup with the capitals

[Bonded]

Surprised he won't hang out to get his last 5.75 million. Pretty lucky for the Flyers

[SuperMatt18]

It opens up cap space for the Flyers but I'm not sure they are that stoked to lose a guy that played 22 minutes a game for them last season and was a big part of their PK.

He had a good season last year so not like he was a liability or a bad deal they wanted to dump.

[FlamesAddiction]

Any mention of why he is retiring?

He probably has a few years left in him.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Surprised he won't hang out to get his last 5.75 million. Pretty lucky for the Flyers

$5.75 less taxes, agent fees, and the almighty escrow is probably going to come out to $2Mish take home. Probably not worth it when you look at his career earnings.

When you’ve had Niskanen’s career, and you’re facing a season of covid protocols, I can understand taking a pass on the season.

He could always make a comeback next year, he’s nowhere near done.

[Sylvanfan]

Perhaps he's not too excited about the potential travel scenarios and the like too in the current situation. As much as many cite the money that he's leaving on the table, he is only 51 games shy of 1000 played in his career. Which it appears if he wanted to play was quite attainable if he could stay healthy. Perhaps he's willing to try a comeback in a year or two if things could normalize to what they were before March.

[Philly06Cup]

Overall Niskanen was great for Philly. He would still be penciled in for the top pairing with Provorov -- this leaves a big hole. Good for him to let the team know so they can adjust their plans.

LoL at Philly looking at Gaudreau. Much more likely they go hard for Pietrangelo. But, I still don't see it -- losing one of Provorov Sanheim and Myers to Seattle makes the price that much steeper.

[agulati]

I won’t be surprised to see more players retire this season at a younger age. There is no guarantee how the new season is going to go and we are living in interesting times

I won’t be surprised to see him, or other players, come back in a couple of years as well