The Philadelphia Flyers have re-signed winger Jakub Voracek to an eight-year, $66-million contract extention.
Flyers re-sign Jakub Voracek to an 8-year deal.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Voracek’s new deal, which begins in 2016-17, is worth an average cap hit of $8.25 million. Full details of the salary breakdown have yet to be disclosed. It’s a significant raise over the $4.25 million annually Voracek’s earning on his current contract, which has a year remaining.
This is the second significant signing this week by the Flyers, having re-signed center Sean Couturier on Tuesday. The deal puts him just under team captain Claude Giroux’s $8.275 million annual salary.
Considering Voracek turns 26 in August and is entering his playing prime, it’s little wonder the Flyers have invested heavily in him. He received this deal after his breakout performance in 2015-16, when he led the Flyers in scoring, was named to the NHL’s First All-Star team and finished among the league’s leading scorers.
Philly.com’s Jeff Neiburg reports no other winger has more assists than Voracek over the past three seasons while ranking third in points behind Washington’s Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel. Voracek is earning the league average for top offensive wingers, as Kessel and Anaheim’s Corey Perry earn comparable salaries.
Voracek’s new contract will take a big bite out of the Flyers’ cap space in 2016-17. Combined with Couturier’s deal, the Flyers have over $59 million invested in 15 players.. Barring an major increase in the salary cap next summer, the Flyers will once again be scrambling to shed salary in the offseason.
No, they will NOT be scrambling to shed salary in the offseason. They have plenty of expiring contracts which will MORE than make up for these new contracts. There is also a very good possibility that some players could be dealt long before next season. So, this dire need to shed salary is simply not true and overblown. That doesn’t mean the situation is ideal — it’s just not as bad as people state. Hextall is investing in the right people. Holmgren tried the quick fix technique late in his tenure by signing Vinny, and MacDonald to long term bloated deals.
Actually, YES, they will. Even with contracts coming off the books next summer, the Flyers still have over $61 million invested in 15 players for 2015-16. They’ll have to re-sign or trade Brayden Schenn, who’s a RFA next summer. If they re-up him, it could cost between $4 – $5 million annually. They also need to re-sign or replace UFAs Michael Raffl and Luke Schenn. Now, if they’re looking at simply re-signing Schenn, and either re-siging Raffl or Schenn or replacing them on the cheap, that’s fine, but they won’t have enough to significantly bolster their roster depth. Maybe if they can find takers to Streit,that will free up over $5 million. Otherwise, they’re looking at trying to trade Lecavalier and Umberger again (good luck with that) or buying them out.
I’m impressed you answer comments personally. I’ve never replied before. Full disclosure I am a flyers fan. Would you agree that the flyers cap issues will progressively get better with each year? I see them having 3-4 defensemen who could play in the next few years who would cost much less than existing players who would go off the books, creating much needed relief while Hextall gets the house in order. I would like to think that Streit and Schenn have SOME value at the trade deadline since it seems that teams are always in need of defensemen. If Streit were to have similar numbers this coming season, his value could be respectable (perhaps somewhere between Coburn’s value and that of Timonen at this years deadline).
I do agree their cap issues will get better. Dealing away Grossmann and Pronger’s rights last month was genius on Hextall’s part. However, Lecavalier and Umberger’s deals remain millstones which appear increasingly unlikely to be dealt away, meaning buyouts for both. Streit could have some value, Schenn moreso given his youth, but it remains to be seen if Hextall moves either guy.
Hextall is in no hurry to sign B. Schenn. He will not spend a ton of money on him or Raffl — and L. Schenn will either be gone or certainly not overpaid. There will be defensemen making the roster on ELC’s and there will be trades. So, again, I state the situation is NOT dire. And again I state it is NOT ideal either. I agree that having Vinny and RJ is absolutely awful, but people have been stating for several years how terrible the Flyers cap situation is and yet each season it works. Their flexibility is limited, but that will change over the next couple of years.