The Philadelphia Flyers got perhaps their most important piece of offseason business done Monday, signing center Noah Cates to a four-year, $16 million ($4 million AAV). But was it a good deal?
Cates, 26, is now tied down in Philadelphia through the 2028-29 season, when he’ll be a 30-year-old unrestricted free agent.
Cates’s $4 million AAV is relatively inexpensive for a player of his talents and importance; hockey analytics site Evolving-Hockey predicted Cates to land a three-year deal worth $3.371 million annually. At a four-year term, Cates was predicted to pull in a $3.891 million cap hit.
Much like the Tyson Foerster contract, the Flyers retained a key player for, more or less, the expected market value.
Cates, along with Foerster and Bobby Brink, comprised the Flyers’ most reliable line of the 2024-25 season. The trio posted an expected goals percentage of 58.3%, per Moneypuck, which ranked second amongst Flyers lines with at least 100 minutes together.
Notably, they were the clear leaders in ice time with 570.9 minutes together, and they out-scored opponents 30-23 together.
Assuming new Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet keeps Cates, Foerster, and Brink together, he’ll be able to weaponize one of the most prolific checking lines in hockey once again.
One wrinkle worth discussing in Cates’s new contract is the fact that there is no trade protection of any kind, like Foerster before him. The Flyers will be able to trade both players without any restrictions at any time they wish, which could be prudent if they are as active on the NHL trade market as they’re expected to be.
Grade: A
With this contract, there’s very little to even nitpick at, so the Flyers get an easy ‘A’ grade for this deal. The cap hit is cheap, and, in tandem with the lack of trade protection, allows the Flyers to continue to do whatever they want to do in the rebuild without any inhibitions.
After signing Cates, the Flyers have $18.991 million remaining in cap space, only needing to re-sign defenseman Cam York and forward Jakob Pelletier. Even if both players sign, the Flyers figure to have a boatload of remaining cap space, and they could always put Ryan Ellis on LTIR for further strategic advantage.
The stage is set for the Flyers to make one of what could be many big trades this offseason, but finding the right deal could prove to be the biggest challenge of all.
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