The deal, which carries a cap hit of $8.75M, will start within the 2025-2026 season and preserve him beneath contract in Philly by 2032-2033. It’s a big increase from his earlier $5.5M cap hit.
It’s probably the most profitable deal in Flyers franchise historical past, beating out the 12-year, $69M pact they gave Mike Richards in 2008. The dedication demonstrated right here to the 27-year-old, who’s coming off a powerful season in 2023-2024, is huge.
Konecny scored a career-high 68 factors in 76 video games, fueled by 33 objectives and 35 assists, whereas averaging 19:50 per sport. Per standard, he was an even-strength monster, posting 52 of these 68 factors at 5-on-5, 4-on-4 or 3-on-3. His six short-handed objectives final season additionally led the league, and the 5-foot-10, 192-pound winger ranked eighth on the crew with 90 hits.
It wasn’t technically his greatest season offensively, although. That got here the 12 months earlier than when Konecny notched 31 objectives and 61 factors regardless of accidents limiting him to 60 video games. That labored out to 1.02 factors per sport in comparison with final season’s 0.89.
Konecny was coming into a contract 12 months in 2024-2025, and there was a large perception the pending UFA might find yourself as commerce bait with the Flyers nonetheless within the throes of a rebuild.
However final season quelled most fears about his year-to-year offensive consistency whereas additionally reiterating he will be an efficient penalty-killer, a task he solely took on when John Tortorella took over behind the bench in 2022. He’s had robust relative possession impacts on the PK, too, portray an image of a greater all-around participant than most would take into account him to be.
Again in Might, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz anticipated Timo Meier’s eight-year, $70.4M extension with the Devils to function a strong comparable in negotiations. Evolving-Hockey additionally projected a max-term extension for Konecny to hold a cap hit within the $8.8M neighborhood. Whereas there could also be some early sticker shock on this wealthy of a deal, this shouldn’t be seen as an overpay on his market worth.
Starting subsequent season, Konecny will carry the best cap hit on the Flyers roster. That honor at present belongs to captain Sean Couturier, who prices $7.75M in opposition to the cap by 2030.
Konecny will make $7M in precise money in 2024-2025 earlier than his extension kicks in as a part of his present contract, which awards him a $4M base wage and $3M signing bonus in its ultimate 12 months. That is the second vital long-term deal for Konecny, who inked a six-year, $33M pact in 2019.
It’s the fourth max-term extension handed out because the league calendar flipped to 2024-2025, becoming a member of Predators goalie Juuse Saros, Canadiens rising star Juraj Slafkovsky and Hurricanes stalwart defender Jaccob Slavin. Konecny’s is the richest of all of them, beating out Saros’ $61.92M complete worth.
Accordingly, it’s probably the most consequential transfer of the Flyers’ offseason, though getting 2023 seventh total decide Matvei Michkov inked to his entry-level contract and introduced over to North America ahead of anticipated is an in depth second. Michkov will seemingly slot in behind Konecny on the Flyers’ right-wing depth chart come opening evening.
With the extension, the Flyers have already racked up a projected cap hit of $73.55M for 2025-2026 with a roster measurement of 18, per PuckPedia. The wage cap is projected to leap to round $92M after growing to $88M this season, which might nonetheless depart them with round $18.5M in house. That’ll be vital with younger constructing blocks Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster, Morgan Frost and Cameron York all due for brand new offers.
Since being drafted twenty fourth total by Philadelphia in 2015, Konecny has racked up 174 objectives, 226 assists and 400 factors in 564 profession video games with a -26 ranking.