On Tuesday, Philly announced it signed Couturier to a multi-year extension – per Sportsnet, it’s a six-year, $26 million deal with a $4.33 million average annual cap hit.
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When giving a young forward a contract extension with the hope that they’ll continue to improve, risk is always associated – and that may be the case with Couturier as well. Couturier has posted 118 points over 287 career games and is coming off a season in which he netted a career-best 15 goals. The former QMJHL standout – who has as nasty an offensive arsenal as he does defensive toolset – was topping out at around fifteen goals per season; he wanted the chance to play more offensive starts to boost his numbers, confident that he had more to offer the team than he was getting to give.
Today’s signing is a key building block for the Flyers, but there’s still work to be done. He also helped Team Canada earn a gold medal at the 2015 World Championships, where he registered three goals and four assists in 10 contests.
A native of Phoenix, Ariz., Couturier was selected in the first round (8th overall) by the Flyers in the 2011 National Hockey League Entry Draft. Noted early in his career for his defensive prowess, the organization clearly is committing to his potential as a two-way player with the capability of increasing his offensive output substantially. The selection was acquired, along with Jakub Voracek and a third-round choice (Nick Cousins), as part of the Jeff Carter trade to Columbus in the summer of 2011.
Couturier’s 82 appearances last season marked the second season in a row where he played in all 82 games.
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Schenn (restricted) and Michael Raffl (unrestricted) are also entering the final year of their contracts.
