Paul Holmgren strikes again. Maybe it’s not quite the midnight offer sheet maneuver, but the unexpected six-year contract at 11 p.m. maneuver might as well be the next best thing.
According to Bob McKenzie at TSN, Wayne Simmonds has signed a six-year contract extension with the Philadelphia Flyers this evening. It’s reportedly worth about $4 million per season. An exact financial breakdown is as of yet unknown. Simmonds will earn $1.75 million against the salary cap this coming season, the final year of a two-year deal.
It’s probably a slight overpayment for Simmonds, who very well may regress a bit from the near-30 goal, 21 assist performance he put up a year ago. Then again, Simmonds did see more power play time last season than he ever had in his career to date. That led to 11 power play goals in total, and it’s possible (perhaps likely) that his opportunities will increase both on the power play and at even strength next season.
His overall shooting percentage may regress as well, but not too drastically. Simmonds put pucks in the net on 14.2 percent of his shots last year. In the two seasons prior, he averaged a 12.3 percent shooting percentage.
The deal could work out for the best, especially considering he turns 24 next week and has yet to reach his prime.
There’s of course the awkward CBA angle to all of this, though. The Flyers have indeed signed Simmonds to this deal tonight, but at the same time, owner Ed Snider and the rest of the league’s big wigs are trying to force a severe salary rollback out of all their players in CBA negotiations. That would include Simmonds.
“Hey, we’ll give you this money now, but we’re going to want 20 percent of it back before we let you play hockey.”
Has to be at least a bit awkward, no? In any event, Simmonds is locked up as a Flyer through the 2018-19 season with this deal. He’ll be 30-years-old when the deal expires.
