The Philadelphia Flyers have gotten in on the offseason action, signing defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere to a multi-year contract. The deal is for six seasons, at an average annual value of $4.5MM. Gostisbehere was a restricted free agent, but was not eligible for arbitration after just his second full season in the league. The contract is front loaded, structured as follows:
- 2017-18: $6MM
- 2018-19: $6MM
- 2019-20: $5.25MM
- 2020-21: $3.25MM
- 2021-22: $3.25MM
- 2022-23: $3.25MM
Though he actually made his debut at the end of the 2014-15 season, Gostisbehere made his mark in 2015-16 when he set a rookie defenseman record with a 15-game point streak. With 46 points in 64 games, he finished second in voting for the Calder trophy and looked to be one of the brightest young stars on defense around the league.
Last year wasn’t as rosy though, as he struggled at times in his own end and was scratched multiple times by Dave Hakstol even while healthy. He still contributed at an excellent pace offensively scoring 39 points in 76 games, but saw his ice time dramatically scaled back at times and usage limited. His plus-minus rating plummeted, but his analytical possession stats actually increased making him a lightning rod for the different methods of rating a defender.
Now 24, Gostisbehere has shown he can be an elite powerplay quarterback and has the ability to impact a game tremendously (some would say for both teams). Though he’s left-handed, he spent a lot of time on the right side this year and has talked in the past about how difficult it was. Perhaps that can explain some of his issues in his own end, but he’ll have to get used to it as the Flyers group is made up of almost exclusively lefties.
A three-year contract would have taken Gostisbehere to unrestricted free agency, meaning they’ve bought out three additional UFA years for a fairly reasonable price. GM Ron Hextall, tight-lipped as ever, refused to reveal the details personally, only telling reporters like Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post that the team received “great cost certainty” with the contract. $4.5MM is a solid number for the Flyers to work with, comparing favorably to other offensive defensemen around the league. The deal will also take Gostisbehere to age-30, usually an age when players start a more rapid decline in performance.
Tyson Barrie signed a four-year contract last summer which pays him $5.5MM per season, Torey Krug signed a deal worth $5.25MM per season, and Sami Vatanen is signed for four seasons at $4.88MM. While all three of those players had longer track records, were in a different stage of restricted free agency, and could be considered superior to Gostisbehere in some circles, they also gave up fewer years of free agency and will all need new contracts before their 30th birthdays.
Tim Panaccio of CSN provided the financial totals, while Stephen Whyno of AP broke down the year-by-year numbers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Very interesting contract. I’m actually kind of surprised they invested in him after the year he just had. Could pay huge dividends if he gets back to his 15-16 level of play.