Hello Flyers fans! It's time for another edition of Between the Pipes where I look at a few of the top headlines from the week. It was certainly a big week for the future of the club with multiple long-term deals announced.
Flyers Sign Jake Voracek to a eight-year extension - [Sean McCullen – nhl.com] [Rob Riches – Flyerdelphia]
Hopkins take: The Flyers locked up one of the top players on their team with a monstrous eight-year, $66 million deal with an average value of $8.25 million. Big money for a big-time player. Voracek led the club in scoring in 2014-15 with 81 points in 82 games and is poised to do the same – if not more – in 2015-16. There is no denying that Voracek is one of the most important pieces to the puzzle, so much so that coach Dave Hakstol flew all the way to the Czech Republic to meet him for the first time. Voracek is a dynamic winger who has meshed well on the top line with captain Claude Giroux. With this new long-term pact, Voracek and Giroux will be tormenting teams for years to come.
Couturier inks a new deal for six more years – [Tim Riday – Comcast Sportsnet] [Kevin Durso – Flyerdelphia]
Hopkins Take: Couturier's six-year, $25.8 million deal helps to end an ongoing debate between a lot of Flyers fans; Couturier is viewed as the club's second line center. The 2011 first round pick is only 22 years old and General Manager Ron Hextall is certainly pleased with how his stock is rising. Already a defensive standout and mainstay on the power play and penalty kill units, Couturier will be called upon for more offensive production at even strength. Couturier only scored 36 points in 82 games last season and the Flyers know he is capable of much more. Hextall has preached patience as it related to his younger players and has given them his full support as they continue to develop. Although there was never reason to believe Couturier wouldn't be in orange and black long-term, I'm sure Evgeni Malkin was shaking his head in disgust somewhere when he heard the news.
Brayden Schenn needs to prove himself in what could be a lame duck season – [Bill Meltzer – Flyerdelphia] [Tom Dougherty – Comcast Sportsnet]
Hopkins Take: After the Flyers locked up Couturier and Voracek to long-term deals, the next logical extension would seem to belong to Brayden Schenn who will be a restricted free agent at the end of this upcoming season. Hextall has other plans, however, and will not look to resign Schenn until sometime during the season or next offseason. This has 'he needs to prove himself' written all over it. While Schenn has shown signs of excellence (his two-goal game against Detroit this past March), he has been widely inconsistent and has bounced around the lineup while looking for some consistency to his game. The Flyers – and Schenn – are turning over a new leaf with Hakstol and the hope is that he can jump start Schenn with the same wisdom and gameplan that he used for players like Jonathan Toews and T.J. Oshie at the University of North Dakota. If Schenn can show the Flyers that he is ready to make that next step, or leap, he will be the next to be extended.
That's all for this edition of Between the Pipes. See you again next week, one week closer to the 2015-16 NHL season!
Zach Hopkins is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @healedbyhockey.
