Since the salary cap era began following the 2004-05 lockout season, the Philadelphia Flyers have had to be extra cautious of handing out too much money to some of their players, as it could result in disaster if a contract doesn’t work out. Some of these contracts were a huge success. Based on the average annual value (AAV) and length of the deals, which eight are the best?
8. Scott Laughton ($3 Million AAV, Five Years)
Scott Laughton’s $3 million cap hit might not be the biggest steal in team history, but he was an important piece to lock up for so long. Having played nine seasons with Philadelphia before he was extended, he deserved a pay day for not only his play, but his loyalty as well.
Laughton stands as a solid middle-six forward who has had some significant trade interest around the league. If he does get moved at some point in the deal, it would have been worth the team’s while. So far, his 73 points in 145 games on the contract are good for a 41-point pace in an 82-game season. For a player that can also play key minutes on the penalty kill, his upside is worth his cap hit.
7. Brayden Schenn ($2.5 Million AAV, Two Years)
Brayden Schenn’s deal with the Flyers was short, but it was still extremely valuable. The Flyers got the now St. Louis Blues captain under bottom-six pay despite him being a key top-six forward for them.
Under his two-year contract with the Flyers, Schenn averaged 53 points per season and finished fifth and second on the team in goals. Philadelphia received multiple first-round draft picks for trading his rights, so his contract was a success in the end even if selling him was a big loss.
6. Travis Konecny ($5.5 Million AAV, Six Years)
Travis Konecny has been a bit inconsistent since signing his six-year contract before the 2019-20 NHL season, but he has been the team’s best forward almost every year since then. Leading them in points in three out of four seasons under this deal, a $5.5 million price tag seems rather inexpensive.
Despite missing 22 games in 2022-23, Konecny led the team in goals (31) and points (61). For the last two years of his contract, he will likely continue to be an offensive force. A trade could also be in his future, given the Flyers are in a rebuild.
5. Steve Mason ($4.1 Million AAV, Three Years)
A cap hit of $4.1 million might look like it is relatively steep for what Steve Mason provided, but throughout his contract he was one of the best goaltenders in the league. Even though he made the playoffs just once under this deal, he was the least of the Flyers’ issues.
Related: Philadelphia Flyers’ Starting Goaltenders Ranked Since 2008-09
If we use goals saved above expected (GSAx) to isolate defensive impact and look at how many more goals he was preventing than what was expected, he finished with a cumulative 34.6 total in the three-year span of his contract from the 2014-15 season through his 2016-17 campaign. For reference, Pekka Rinne had a total of a minus-24.9 GSAx in the same span despite being a finalist for the Vezina Trophy within those three seasons.
4. Wayne Simmonds ($3.975 Million AAV, Six Years)
For several years in the 2010s, Wayne Simmonds was the best goal scorer the Flyers had on their roster. That along with a fighting ability rivaled by almost nobody in the NHL and him being one of the best hustle players in the league made this deal a steal for Philadelphia.
When he was under contract from 2013-14 until 2018-19, Simmonds had 160 goals in 457 games. In the first four seasons of the deal, he led the team in goals every single time. He was able to give the Flyers an identity when the team was otherwise uninspiring. For this, he became an easy player to root for.
3. Jakub Voracek ($4.25 Million AAV, Four Years)
Before a massive eight-year deal worth $66 million in total value, Jakub Voracek was on one of the best bargain contracts in the sport. While he was under that deal, he eclipsed a total of 244 points in just 285 games, which is a pace of 70 each season. With scoring being fairly low when he was on that deal from 2012-13 through 2015-16, this production made him one of the best players in the league.
Voracek was one of the team’s key players in that span, even though they were unable to win a playoff series when he was being paid so little. This mainly had to do with the fact that the Flyers had some talent and depth issues in the four years of this contract, making it so his efforts were still not enough to get them over the hump.
2. Claude Giroux ($3.75 Million AAV, Three Years)
Holmgren got his future captain in Claude Giroux under a steal of a contract right before he became known as a true star. Under the deal, he had three consecutive point-per-game finishes and finished fourth and third in Hart Trophy voting. Philadelphia saved significant dollars on one of the best players in hockey at that period in time.
With 227 points in just 207 games when he was under his $3.75 million price tag, it could be argued that Giroux’s contract was the best in the league at that time. The team’s belief in his progression led to him being the second-best Flyer in terms of points in history with exactly 900.
1. Sean Couturier ($4.33 Million AAV, Six Years)
When Sean Couturier was on this deal, it was arguably the best in all of hockey. After spending five seasons in the Orange and Black, he hadn’t progressed significantly due to a lack of opportunity. When he signed this contract, that changed almost immediately.
Couturier became a fixture on the Flyers’ second line in the first season of the contract in 2016-17. From 2017-18 until the last year of the contract in 2021-22, he was the team’s definitive first-line center after Giroux had moved to the wing. From the year he became a top center onward, he scored a total of 110 goals and 159 assists in 305 games and won the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward in 2019-20.
With as many risks as the Flyers have taken in giving out extensions to their players, they were bound to hit on some of them. As it turns out, they have done a decent job in getting value out of young players in recent history when looking at the best deals they’ve had.
