Is Ryan White being pushed out the door?
That could be the case with Friday’s free-agent signing of depth winger Dale Weise by the Flyers. He reportedly agreed to a multi-year contract. TSN's Bob McKenzie first reported the sides were close, and early Friday afternoon Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto welcomed Weise to the team.
@daleweise22 welcome to the fly guys. @NHLFlyers. #reunited— Michael Del Zotto (@MichaelDelZotto) July 1, 2016
According to McKenzie, the deal is worth $9.4 million over four years ($2.35 million per year).
Weise, 27, is a bigger player than White at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds. His numbers are similar to White's, who did not re-sign with the Flyers in advance of free agency.
That doesn’t mean he won’t, but general manager Ron Hextall may have found his replacement.
The Flyers went into free agency without much salary cap room and were unable to pursue high-end players such as Milan Lucic, David Backes and Kyle Okposo, all of whom received long-term deals averaging $6 million per season.
Hextall said he wanted to add a top-nine player and Weise is just that. This will be his fifth NHL club.
Weise had 14 goals last season — all with Montreal — before being traded to Chicago at the deadline.
A six-year veteran, Weise has just 37 goals in 329 games. His 14 goals this season with Les Canadiens were a career-high.
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Flyers add Gordon
Later in the day, the Flyers added another depth player with the signing of Boyd Gordon, a 32-year-old centerman, who has been with Phoenix, Edmonton and Arizona over the past four seasons, during which he tallied a total of 20 goals.
