Insider: Flyers Likely To Sign 2 More Key Players to Extensions

The Philadelphia Flyers have hit a bit of a bump in the road as they head into the All-Star break; their resurgence this season has been stopped cold by a five-game losing streak. But they've seen enough after a mostly terrific first half to start locking up some of their key players going forward, such as Owen Tippett (8 years) and Ryan Poehling (2 years). 

Speaking on The Jeff Marek Show on Monday, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman said he sees two more players on the roster that the Flyers will be looking to sign to extensions in the very near future:

In a lot of ways, Philly's season has been a big success... I think that now they've got to sort out as they go for the long haul, who's gonna be there. 

I think (Nick) Seeler gets signed, and I think they take a run at a (Travis) Konecny extension. 

Konecny was a first-round selection of the Flyers in the 2015 NHL Draft (24th overall), and in his eight seasons in the City of Brotherly Love, he's posted five 20+ goal seasons (including this year, with 22 goals, 20 assists for 42 points in 50 games), and is certainly a player they'd like to keep, per Friedman.

He'll turn 27 in March, and has one season left after this on his 6-year, $33 million contract with a $5.5 million cap hit.

As for Seeler, the rugged, defensive stalwart will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, but with his minimum salary cap hit of $775,000 he has been mentioned extensively as a trade target, as there are plenty of interested parties who would love to have him, particularly at that price. 

But the 30-year-old has proven to head coach John Tortorella that he is a key contributor on the penalty kill and is a shot-blocking presence in his own end. He won't rack up the points on offense, but is low-risk to have out there and rarely costs his team defensively. This season Seeler has seven assists in 50 games in 17 minutes a night, with a plus/minus rating of +15. He's also en route to his best season in shot-blocking, with 141 thus far.

For his part, Seeler has never made more than the league minimum in his six-year career, and if he's going to do it anywhere, he has said wants it to be in Philly. 

“At the end of the day you can’t control a lot of things in this business, but I do know that I absolutely love it here and I want to be a Flyer. Hopefully I can continue to be with this group and honestly it’s not hard to block out that (trade talk) stuff. I’m just happy to be a part of such a good group and organization, and I’d love to stay here and play here for a long time.”

Anthony DiMarco of The Fourth Period estimates that Seeler could be looking at a three-year deal, starting at about the $2 million range AAV. But he also notes that the two sides have yet to start serious negotiations. 

Photo: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports