By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
For most of the week, the free agent market was quietly stirring. The Flyers finally jumped in on Saturday night with a big splash.
According to multiple reports, the first from TSN's Frank Seravalli, the Flyers and forward James van Riemsdyk have agreed to a five-year, $35 million deal that will become official when free agency opens at noon on Sunday.
van Riemsdyk was originally drafted by the Flyers with the second overall pick in 2007. He played for the Flyers from the 2009-10 season through the 2011-12 season, scoring 47 goals and posting 99 points in three seasons with the Orange and Black.
He was then traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Luke Schenn, a deal which was highly viewed as one of the bigger failures in Flyers history. With Toronto, van Riemsdyk scored 154 goals and 294 points in six seasons, including 36 goals and 54 points last season.
The signing would add a scoring winger to the Flyers lineup that has long been desired. The Flyers entered free agency with over $21 million in free cap space ahead of the 2018-19 season, so there is room to not only make this deal, but still remain players on other free agents as Sunday's activity picks up. The average annual value on the deal is $7 million. There is not a no-movement clause in the deal.
Stay tuned for more as free agency opens on Sunday.
