The Flyers opened up the checkbook in extending young center Sean Couturier.
On Tuesday, Philly announced it signed Couturier to a multi-year extension -- per Sportsnet, it’s a six-year, $26 million deal with a $4.33 million average annual cap hit.Sean Couturier extension: $3.75M, $4M, $4.25M, $4.5M, $4.75M, $4.75M.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 28, 2015
Courturier’s new contract comes with year left on his existing deal, which pays $1.75 million annually.
So yeah, nice raise.
The 22-year-old cashed in after scoring a career-high 15 goals and 37 points in 82 games last year, then chipping in with seven points in 10 games to help Canada win gold at the 2015 World Hockey Championships.
The eighth overall pick at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Couturier holds the distinction of ranking first among all players in his draft class in games played -- 287 thus far.
Today’s signing is a key building block for the Flyers, but there’s still work to be done. Couturier is one of three key Flyers needing an extension beyond this season; fellow RFA Brayden Schenn is up after this year, while Jakub Voracek -- who led the team in scoring last year with a career-high 81 points -- is slated to go unrestricted after this year.