On the eve of the NHL draft, the Flyers have made their first key personnel move of the offseason, as they’ve signed Radko Gudas to a multi-year contract extension.
The #Flyers have signed defenseman Radko Gudas to a multi-year contract extension → https://t.co/TTFEtLdqmr pic.twitter.com/imUG8NKWaD
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) June 24, 2016
It’s not surprising to see Gudas, who would have become a restricted free agent next week, re-signed this quickly. Gudas, acquired in the Braydon Coburn trade back in March of 2015, ended up being a very solid player in his first year with the Flyers, leading all of the team’s defensemen in most possession metrics and taking on key minutes down the stretch after the team lost Michael Del Zotto to injury. Ron Hextall had said earlier in the offseason that he was hoping to lock Gudas up ‘more long-term than short-term’, and with this, the team has done just that.
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston has the exact numbers:
Radko Gudas extension with #flyers:
16-17: $2.5M salary, $1.5M signing bonus
17-18: $3.5M salary
18-19: $3.4M salary
19-20: $2.5M salary— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 24, 2016
That works out to a total of $13.4 million, which would be a cap hit of $3.35 million per year.
At first glance, this seems like a deal that very well could go either way. If Gudas can’t keep up the strong levels of play he showed last year, it may be tough to live up to that number unless he adds more scoring. But if he can stay where he did this year in terms of possession, or even stay close to it, then this deal probably becomes a bargain.
In any case, after the buyout of R.J. Umberger, this is the Flyers’ first real move of the offseason where they actually add something to their roster moving forward. Stay tuned for more!
