In just 24 short days, the Philadelphia Flyers will officially kick off the 2019-2020 regular season when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks on October 4th in Prague. What’s even more exciting is that the players hit the ice in less than three days from now to kickoff Training Camp in preparation for the regular season. However, there is some bad news. The Flyers have still yet to re-sign defenseman Ivan Provorov or forward Travis Konecny. The good news, however, is that there is still time to ink them to a new deal before Training Camp gets underway and its possible both guys sign new deals in the next day or two.
Following Day 4 of Rookie Camp earlier today, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher spoke to the media regarding both Provorov and Konecny. While some of what he said was encouraging, nobody is really quite sure what will happen over the next few days. The positive here is that Chuck Fletcher had plans to speak with both agents at some point today.
“You know we’re a couple of days away from camp so I expect to speak with both agents today,” said Fletcher when asked if there had been any progress regarding contract talks. “We’re getting to a point where we need to see some progress if they’re going to be here on Friday on the ice”.
Provorov’s Situation and Outlook
For Ivan Provorov, it makes sense as to why he hasn’t resigned with the Flyers just yet. He was simply waiting for the market to be set. Well, good news. The market is now somewhat set. Yesterday morning, the Columbus Blue Jackets inked defenseman Zach Werenski to a three-year deal worth $15 million dollars. This makes things a bit more clear for Provorov and his camp and should help speed things up a little. As a matter of fact, a Werenski type deal may be just what Provorov ends up signing.
Konecny’s Situation and Outlook
For Travis Konecny, things are bit fuzzier. Most people thought the Flyers would have Konecny locked up by mid-August at the latest. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. While no one really knows why Konecny hasn’t reached a deal yet with the Orange and Black, a lot of people have somewhat of an idea regarding what his contract may look like. Due to the Flyers cap situation, they really have no choice but to sign him to a bridge deal. When everything is all said and done, no one should be surprised if the Flyers sign Konecny to a three-year deal that would pay him very little money. While that may not be what Konecny wants, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
The Possibility of Being Signed Before Training Camp?
Will Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov sign new deals with the Orange and Black before players hit the ice Friday morning for the first day of Training Camp? That’s the big question everyone is asking. Ideally, Konecny and Provorov sign in the next day or two and suit up on Friday and take part in training camp. Whether or not that will happen, nobody really knows. As for Chuck Fletcher, he had an interesting take on it.
“You know that’s hard to say,” said Fletcher when asked about his outlook of the situation. “I’ve been through so many of these. I’ve been in situations where you seem like you’re a long way away and it comes together very quickly and then other times it seems like your right there and you can’t get to the finish line so I don’t think I’m positive or negative but I still think there’s an opportunity to get both these guys signed and in camp. Today will be a pretty important day”.
Mandatory Photo Credit: AP Photo/Matt Slocum
