Source: Flyers nearly traded Lecavalier to Preds

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The Flyers almost had a deal to unload Vinny Lecavalier at the NHL draft this past weekend with the Florida Panthers -- it didn't happen.

And, on Monday, the Flyers nearly had a deal with Nashville that would have seen the Predators take Lecavalier's $4.5 million salary off the Flyers' hands.

What -- if anything -- the Flyers would have got in returns remains muddled, but in the end the deal fell apart.

According to a league source, the Preds were willing to take the full cap hit for two of Lecavalier's remaining four years but not the entire contract.

Another league source said Flyers general manager Ron Hextall spent most of Monday trying to find a deal for Lecavalier in addition to qualifying some restricted free agents (see story).

The Flyers head into free agency Tuesday with no money to spend and they are more than $230,000 over the league's salary cap.

While they could still sign players and worry about the cap later (10 percent overage allowed), the fact they haven’t been able to shed Lecavalier’s contract -- even allowing his agent, Kent Hughes, to negotiate on his own -- shows you just how bad things are.

And they get worse Tuesday when the Flyers must pay Lecavalier a $2 million bonus.

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