Nikolai Zherdev officially signs with Flyers: 1 year, 2 million

It had been rumored over the last few days but it is finally official: the Flyers have signed forward Nikolai Zherdev to a 1 year, 2 million dollar contract. Zherdev will now step into one of the top two lines for the Flyers and is an immediate 30 goal threat.

You can read more of my thoughts on the shifty winger in my previous post, but at the minimal price of 2 million dollars, it's hard not to call this a great signing. If Zherdev turns into a reliable scorer then the Flyers have a steal; if he completely flops, he could easily be waived since it's only a one year deal. Call it the perfect low-risk, high-reward deal.

With this signing, the Flyers are now almost 1.5 million dollars over the cap. There is another move to be made to shed salary, whether it's actually dealing Simon Gagne or it's making a bigger deal with Jeff Carter or one of the defensemen, because the Flyers still have to sign another forward or two to round out the roster. With restricted free agents Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe still hanging out there, the Flyers will need to get at least 4 million dollars off the books to bring them both back. The signing of Zherdev also eliminates any thoughts that the Flyers could bring in another goaltender unless one of the remaining free agent netminders (Marty Turco?) wants to take a massive pay cut to play in Philly.