June 09, 2017
Usually the Friday afternoon news dump is reserved for things that teams don’t want to tell their fans, but that isn’t the case for the Flyers. Not this time, anyway.
General manager Ron Hextall announced that the Flyers have agreed to terms with defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere on a contract extension. Details of the contract have not yet been revealed, but according to CSN Philly, it's a six-year deal with a $4.5 million AAV.
Gostisbehere would have been a restricted free agent this upcoming offseason.
The Ghost Bear’s second and first full-time NHL season didn’t go as smoothly as 2015-16, as he managed 39 points (7 goals, 32 assists) in 76 games. He was benched for multiple games by Flyers coach Dave Hakstol, which were pretty controversial moves considering the Flyers' lack of other good options on the blue line.
Last offseason, Gostisbehere had surgery on his hip and lower abdomen along with teammate Claude Giroux. There is a thought around the NHL that "teams are getting more and more wary about the length of recovery from sports-hernia surgery."
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