Flyers ink former first-round pick to five-year extension

York, the No. 14 pick in the 2019 draft, is coming off his fifth season with Philadelphia, the last three of which have been spent as a full-time NHLer. Since beginning to play a regular role on the blue line in the 2022-23 season, York has scored 16 goals, 51 assists and 67 points in 21:13 of ice time per night across 202 games, with a -22 rating and 369 blocks.

There was plenty of speculation last season that York may be a trade candidate, primarily due to a rocky relationship with former head coach John Tortorella. The pair reportedly had a verbal altercation near the end of the year, which resulted in Tortorella’s dismissal and York sitting on the bench for the entirety of interim head coach Brad Shaw’s first game at the helm to close out the campaign.

It appeared all was forgiven when reports indicated the two sides were close on a deal, building on initial extension talks that took place last fall. With a new coach at the helm in Rick Tocchet, the Flyers land a long-term commitment from York at a marginal discount on his market value.

AFP Analytics projected a long-term extension for York to be a five-year deal at roughly $5.75M per season. That’s shrewd work from general manager Daniel Brière to work quickly to remove an offer sheet threat while locking him in around 10 percent cheaper than expected.

The Flyers will technically be over the cap by roughly $580K with a full roster after registering York’s contract, although that shouldn’t be cause for concern. Retired defenseman Ryan Ellis’ $6.25M cap hit will be placed on long-term injured reserve for the entirety of the season. At the same time, winger Tyson Foerster and his $3.75M cap hit could also land on LTIR to begin the year while he recovers from an infection in his elbow. High-paid defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen also isn’t expected to be ready to begin the season. Philadelphia has time on its side to shed salary if need be – a move that could be as simple as waiving and reassigning third-string goaltender Ivan Fedotov, bringing his $3.275M cap hit down to $2.125M.

York will reprise his top-pairing role while fellow lefty Travis Sanheim mans the right side. He should be ticketed for a bump in ice time if Tocchet restores some of his power-play minutes. The 24-year-old saw under 10 minutes in total on the man advantage last season after playing a regular role there in 2023-24. That should help his offensive numbers as well. He had 30 points in 82 games two years ago before posting 17 in 66 last season.

He and Sanheim will headline the Flyers’ defensive unit next season while being supported by veterans Ristolainen and Nick Seeler, some up-and-comers in Emil Andrae, Jamie Drysdale, and Egor Zamula, while also being complemented by depth free agent pickups Dennis Gilbert and Noah Juulsen.