Many young and established or up-and-coming stars around the NHL have signed long-term contracts with their respective clubs early, but the Philadelphia Flyers are one team that just hasn’t followed that trend, to their disadvantage.
Recently, the Flyers re-signed two of their most important young pieces, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, to four-year contracts at $9.125 million and $6.5 million cap hits, respectively.
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These reflect market value, to be certain, but neither player and their camps cut the Flyers a break on money or term, compared to other teams around the league.
Philadelphia will get another chance to course-correct, as 21-year-old winger Matvei Michkov is eligible for a contract extension, and can sign for a maximum of eight years until Sept. 16, when the max allowable drops down to seven years.
Sportsnet just released their list of best value contracts in the NHL in its new financial landscape, and there’s a common theme: young stars, and long-term contracts.
That list began with two Montreal Canadiens players–Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson–who are each set to begin their respective eight-year contracts; a $9.15 million AAV for the 20-year-old Demidov, and $8.85 million for the 22-year-old Hutson.
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“There is arguably no team better set up from a financial perspective with their core than the Montreal Canadiens. The timing of the extensions for Hutson and Demidov worked out perfectly for the Canadiens, as both could’ve theoretically waited until after the Carlsson offer sheet to extend. Instead, Hutson inked his new deal last October, and Demidov signed his just days before [Leo Carlsson],” Sportsnet’s Michael Amato wrote.
“Demidov is still only 20 and Hutson 22, so Montreal is getting two elite players for the majority of their primes at a combined cap hit equal to Carlsson’s AAV and less than Celebrini’s.”
On the topic of Carlsson, the Flyers effectively bet against themselves with the exorbitant $18 million cap hit they dished out with their ambitious offer sheet. That offer sheet was a one-off thing that didn’t significantly change the landscape of the league, but the Flyers showed their willingness to spend, even at a low value, and they paid for it with the Zegras and Drysdale contracts.
The one eight-year contract the Flyers were willing to dish out to a young player was Tyson Foerster’s, which was an eight-year, $56.8 million extension ($7.1 million AAV) for a winger who has yet to score 30 goals or 50 points in a season and suffered two major arm injuries just last season.
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Comparatively, the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes have Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven, also on Sportsnet’s list, signed to eight-year deals, with Blake carrying a $5.11 million AAV and Stankoven carrying a $6 million AAV.
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Blake, 23, scored 53 points for the Hurricanes last season, while Stankoven, 23, scored 44 while playing center full-time for the first time in his nascent NHL career.
They key, though, is that both players signed with Carolina last July, before their breakouts even came. The Flyers, with Zegras, Drysdale, and Foerster, signed their players after.
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New Jersey paid up for Jack Hughes, Minnesota paid up for Matt Boldy, the Canadiens paid up for Demidov, so on and so forth.
And with time ticking on Michkov and a potential eight-year pact, they’ll likely have to do the same with him, too.
The Flyers have been liberal with their money since clearing out bad contracts and dead weight, but soon, the stakes will be higher and money will get tighter if they aspire to be a true contender, and the blueprint is already there for them to follow.
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