Johnny Gaudreau is a player that can change a franchise, and his hometown Philadelphia Flyers badly need some positive change right now.

Instead, he's going to change one of the Flyers' Metropolitan Division foes because of how badly the club mismanaged its "aggressive retool."

There aren't many tools in Philadelphia's toolbox right now, which is tough considering how many pieces the other Metro teams added in recent days. Every team got better, with the exception of the Flyers and maybe the New York Islanders.

At least the Islanders have the salary-cap space needed to improve, though. They could add someone like free-agent center Nazem Kadri if they wanted to.

Philadelphia, on the other hand, is in a cap crunch of its own creation. They are currently $98,107 over the cap and will need to move some pieces around the get underneath the $82.5 million threshold before opening day.

This prevented the team from making an offer to Gaudreau, who grew up rooting for the Flyers. The speedy, playmaking winger signed a seven-year, $68.3 million contract ($9.75 AAV) with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

When Gaudreau turned down an offer with his previous team, the Calgary Flames, citing a "family decision," it was presumed that he wanted to be closer to his hometown in southern New Jersey, right across the river from Philadelphia.