December 8: The deal is done, with Myers officially signing a three-year deal worth an average annual value of $2.55MM. Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher released this statement:
We’re happy to have Phil signed for the next three years. He is a big, mobile right shot defenseman who progressed into a top four role on our blue line last season. We look forward to his continued growth.
Myers is receiving a pretty substantial raise over his entry-level salary and will still be a restricted free agent when this new deal expires. At that point though, he will have arbitration rights and will be just a year away from UFA status, giving him plenty of leverage in talks. If the young defenseman does manage to secure a spot next to Ivan Provorov on the team’s top pairing in the meantime, it could be a big payday in 2023.
December 7: The Flyers have one remaining restricted free agent in defenseman Philippe Myers and it appears that they’re on their way towards getting that deal done. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Twitter link) that the two sides are close to an agreement and that a contract could be finalized later this week.
The 23-year-old spent the majority of last season with the Flyers, getting into 50 games where he recorded 16 points (4-12-16) while averaging over 17:06 per game, a number that went up as the season progressed. By the time the postseason hit, he was a fixture in their top four and logged just over 20 minutes a night in 16 playoff games while picking up three goals and an assist.
With the team not changing much on the back end this offseason (Matt Niskanen retired with Erik Gustafsson, a left-shot player, taking his spot on the roster), Myers arguably sits atop Philadelphia’s depth chart among right-shot blueliners. As a result, it certainly seems as if he’s a candidate to take on an even bigger role next season.
The Flyers have some cap flexibility and have nearly $4.8MM in cap room, per CapFriendly. While someone in his situation (71 career regular season NHL games) would typically be a safe bet for a bridge contract, they do have some room to try to get a longer-term contract done. With how quickly Myers has moved up their depth chart, that may be the smarter play for GM Chuck Fletcher although such a move wouldn’t be without its risks. Whichever way they wind up going, it at least appears that some good progress is being made on his next contract.
They also have very bad contracts in JVR and Hayes along with needing to resign Heart, Gustafsson, Sanhiem and Patrick next offseason. Even if they do sign him to a decent contract their gonna have major issues with the cap next season as all those players will be in line for a pretty significant raises probably looking at anywhere from 2-6 million dollar raises for each player (obviously 6 would be Heart)
Hayes is a bit overpaid, but he played well last season. Can’t complain about that. It remains to be seen exactly how much Patrick can get in a contract considering the health problem. They can also free money in a Ghostisberre trade, and I believe Giroux’s contract is up soon. They should be good even with the flat cap.
I mean, Hayes was pretty good year one. He’s overpaid, but that’s free agency for you.
It’s Hart, not Heart.
Doesn’t change my argument but thank you
Great value
That’s a hell of a deal
This is a great bridge deal for both sides.