Philadelphia Flyers' 2025 Restricted Free Agent Contract Predictions – Hockey Writers – Philadelphia Flyers

It may be too early to look ahead to the 2025 offseason, but there are some big restricted free agent (RFA) contracts for the Philadelphia Flyers coming up. Let's predict those deals now, to see what the team might be dealing with.

For full transparency, I did this last season, too, with mixed results for some of the speculation (and reason). Among the four players who actually signed extensions, they earned $11.3 million in average annual value (AAV)—I put them at $11.45 million. I was a little down on Owen Tippett's age, but AAV was close to perfect. I will do my best to be more accurate this time.

Cam York

Following a two-year bridge deal through the 2023 offseason, it's safe to say Cam York is looking to get paid. The 23-year-old defenseman has been the Flyers' best player for the past two seasons—we'd imagine he'll sit third in this conversation.

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While York's teammates voted him the Flyers' most improved player in their 2023-24 campaign, I personally disagree. His magnum opus, in my eyes, was his show in 2022-23. Despite playing a lighter role, he was as good defensively as he was last season—which was a highlight—but the offense was a night and day difference.

In the past two seasons, York has proven to be a source of offense to his recruits. He took more risks, became more dangerous with the puck, and produced more scoring opportunities as a result. Committed enough defensively to have that side of his game be a strength, he was special. He's been offensively limited to a top role for the Flyers in his recent outings, but that might be him finding what it takes to play those kinds of minutes.

My money would be on York personally progressing in 2024-25 with this in mind. Based on that, I think you will be paid very well. For some reason, there are some defensemen who don't get paid as much as they should—see Gustav Forsling of the Florida Panthers. My guess is that York will be looking at a long-term deal, which should be between six and eight years. I will settle within seven years and put the AAV at $7 million for a total of $49 million. Considering Travis Sanheim earned 6.25 million AAVs over eight years through 2022, that's a fair amount.

Morgan Frost

Now, I personally believe the writing is on the wall for Morgan Frost. While I like him as a player and think he can benefit the team in the long run if he has a good season in 2024-25, he seems to be a bit of an oddball. Head coach John Tortorella has made it clear that he doesn't like this player, and general manager (GM) Danny Briere has been working as if he is waiting for him to be traded. Just for the sake of argument, though, what would an extension look like?

Frost got more ice time late in the 2023-24 season, but that was because Tortorella had no choice—Sean Couturier's offense disappeared when he suffered a sports hernia, so they needed a new, inside-first-line center. . The 25-year-old played well, especially next to Tippett, but finished with 41 points in 71 games this season. He was a good two-way center for the Orange and Black, but his point production could use improvement.

If Frost excels in a consistent role on the second line with players like Tippett and probably one of Travis Konecny ​​or Matvei Michkov, he could score nearly 60 points in 2024-25. If he can do that and be responsible in his position, maybe an extension is needed. It is likely to be a long-term contract, however.

Signing a two-year bridge deal through 2023 like York, it's time for the Flyers to pay up. Seeing as when they drafted center Jett Luchanko and paid Konecny ​​$8.75 million in AAV, there isn't much room for him in terms of position or equity. However, if he impresses enough, he could get a deal. If that happens, I generate an AAV contract of $5.75 million over seven years, totaling $40.25 million. This is a bit of a discount in terms of AAV if he's showing anything, in my eyes, but it's about what second-line centers are going for these days.

Tyson Foerster

That's where I think the Flyers can be a little more comfortable. Tyson Foerster is out of his entry-level contract (ELC) following the 2024-25 season, so a bridge deal or long-term contract is possible.

Foerster, just 22 years old, was on the Flyers' starting line for most of last season. His defensive numbers were pretty good next to Couturier, but the offense could be something to work on—he had 20 goals and 33 points in 77 games. But he had 13 goals in his last 29 contests, so the improvement was there. Getting a full season of experience and getting a chance to play with Michkov for an extended period of time could boost the offensive numbers.

Foerster is an excellent shooter in the open area and is one of the Flyers' most valuable young players. It's hard to pinpoint where he'll be in his 23-year-old campaign, but there's a good chance there will be some progress. Anyway, I think the final decision will be the bridge contract. Signing a long-term contract at his age would be very dangerous for the team and the player. I think a three-year deal worth $4.5 million per season ($13.5 million) would be mutually agreeable—paying him what he deserves but not handcuffing him to Philadelphia.

Noah Cates

In our last notable RFA, I'm with Noah Cates. He signed a two-year, $2.625 million AAV contract through the 2023 offseason. In my opinion, the 25-year-old's contract has grown so well that he can afford to renew that contract.

At this point, Cates has proven that his rise comes with his defense. He is good in his position but lacks the attacking talent to inspire great development. He held the position of six last year and had very good results for that type of player. He was excellent at preventing scoring chances—scoring wasn't great for the Orange and Black, so he had a misleading minus-8 rating.

Overall, for what Cates is, I think another two-year deal worth $2.5 million in AAV ($5 million total) this time around is fine. I expect him to continue to be a solid winger for the Flyers and put up a ton of points. He will be 28 when this deal expires, so it will set him up well for free agency if Philadelphia's prospects push him down the roster a bit and make his presence less important.

Other Flyer RFAs

The other two less notable RFA deals I see are Olle Lycksell and Ronnie Attard. They played in Philadelphia late last season and got good results. I think they'll be in the American Hockey League (AHL) for most of 2024-25, but both are still viable NHL depth players in my eyes. Just for fun, I'm pointing out that they both got two-year one-way deals at $0.85 million AAV ($1.7 million total).

With these contracts and assuming Lycksell and Emil Andrae ($0.903 million AAV) make the team in 2025-26, all 23 available roster spots will be gone with money left over. Even if Ryan Ellis is placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), they will have $88.8 million going into the 2025 season—the 2024-25 salary cap is $88 million, for reference.

Remember that these players can always take more club friendly deals, but it wouldn't help much. I suspect the Flyers could trade players like Rasmus Ristolainen ($5.1 million AAV), Joel Farabee ($5 million AAV), and maybe a few others, so the situation isn't as bad as it seems. Still, the Flyers need to be smart with their money going forward.