Everything surrounding the Philadelphia Flyers and the entire hockey world right now has to do with their offer sheet of star center Leo Carlsson. Aside from the Flyers potentially landing their No. 1 center for at least the next five years, by sending over the $90-million offer sheet they have potentially changed the entire landscape of the NHL. It’s created a buzz that is permeating through every single transaction from here on out — maybe now young stars are going to demand the contracts they deserve and not just wait around to get paid.
Well, one young player who decided to sign a long-term contract before the offer sheet went down, on the very first day he was eligible to sign one actually, was Flyers winger Tyson Foerster. He signed an eight-year contract with a $7.1-million AAV that immediately felt very fair for a player with his two-way ability and for someone who was on-pace to score 40 goals during a season that was unfortunately interrupted by injury.
But while he secured his future with the Flyers for at least the next nine years, Foerster is also even more excited about the potential of those seasons now involving one of the best young players in the entire sport, in Leo Carlsson.
Tyson Foerster speaks on Flyers’ Leo Carlsson offer sheet
Foerster spoke with the media Monday after signing his eight-year contract extension last week and in the four minutes over a Zoom call — a call that looked like he took it while in the middle of a park or out for a walk and needed to do his contractually obligated speaking with some reporters — one of the few questions was directly to get his reaction to the Carlsson offer sheet and if he was excited.
Well, he certainly is a little pumped at the potential. Foerster was asked more specifically what his excitement level if when he sees his general manager get super aggressive like that and make bold moves.
“Danny is, that’s one of the reasons why I signed long-term here. Because we know he’s going to try and push to make us better. And I’m kind of in the same boat as you guys. We’re excited but we’re just waiting to see what happens,” he said.
As long as it’s not involving you or makes your team worse, it must be incredibly rewarding to see someone like Briere going all-in on this roster. It’s a real sign of belief in the team as it is currently constructed that a lot of it can remain the same and just add a No. 1 center to it for the rest of it to fall into place. A true vote of confidence to abandon the next four first-round picks to get one player to add to this team.
And just like Foerster, we’re all going to have to wait and twiddle our thumbs until Friday when the seven-day deadline of the Ducks matching the offer sheet is up and they need to make a decision. They can publicize their decision any time between now and Friday, but we just know they’re going to make us sweat all the way up until Friday afternoon. And Foerster will be right there with us.
Foerster adores playing in Philadelphia and wants to stay
Foerster spoke more about his eight-year contract extension and how please he is that he can potentially spend the rest of his career in Philadelphia and playing with the Flyers. He really credits them and wants to stay loyal to the team that drafted him in the first round, and helped him develop into a special talent.
“They took me in when I was young and I went up the ranks through Lehigh first, just everything about it,” Foerster said about staying in Philadelphia. “The fans, the city. It’s a great spot to play and I think we’re on the come up. Super excited and I’m happy to be here, like you said, hopefully the next nine years.”
But as we have seen more and more players focus on their earning potential and maybe try to get more of a Carlsson-esque contract, Foerster opted to just get the security of a maximum-term deal and doesn’t even really care if people start considering his contract team-friendly or not.
“For me, I love Philadelphia. I love playing with these guys, so, I mean they asked me if I would look to extend this year and it was a no-brainer for me. I mean, I don’t play hockey for the money. It’s all fun and just happy to be here,” he said.
And now, the entire focus is on next year and with the hopes of playing all 84 games, Foerster could truly have his well-earned breakout year offensively. He might not be a household name just yet, but this season feels poised to be the year where Foerster gets more recognition league-wide as a very good player. Maybe it involves 35 or 40 goals, or maybe just forming a real strong bond with a potential Swedish No. 1 center that’s could come in and putting himself on the map that way.
Whatever it is, Foerster will be a part of this team for the foreseeable future and the goal is to only improve every single year.
“Oh yeah, I think we’re not satisfied with how last year went. We got a taste [of the playoffs] and hopefully next year, next couple of years, we’re right back in it and going farther and deeper.”
