What would a JVR w/ retention deal look like from the Flyers POV?

Is St. Ivany really an NHL-caliber player? I figured Attard would be much more likely to hold his own.

Attard has a higher offensive ceiling for sure. St. Ivany is more likely to be a steady NHL defenseman though. Ceiling of a #2 pair defenseman but more likely a 3rd pair, which is okay. Good teams have to be able to develop their own depth defensemen.

I think Arizona likes the deal above because Ladd has a $3 million signing bonus and only nets a making $1 million less than JVR next season so I figure they would like JVR's Higher Cap Number to lower actual salary amount.

I think if the Flyers retained 50% they could maybe get a 3rd rounder for him over the summer from a desperate team that got shut out of Free Agency. Maybe teams are more interested in him even at the higher cap then since he's only a 1 season commitment rather than the term some UFA's get.

Lol I was just going to say; maybe if he was drafted by someone else he would be an NHL-caliber player.

It is a risk assuming that these college players will actually sign with us, isn't it? If I were one of these kids (Brink, Attard, St. Ivany, O'Brien, etc.), I would be eyeing up free agency...

leafs decline

That's a risk on those players part as well. Starting your career as a player that is deemed to have no loyalty and difficult to negotiate with is probably a bad idea for most players.