Mandatory Photo Credit: Alex McIntyre
Yesterday, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi provided a little bit of insight on the Philadelphia Flyers and Philippe Myers contract negotiations. Myers is the final Flyers restricted free-agent who received a qualifying offer. Both parties reported being close to an agreement on a contract that could finalize this week.
As the 2019-2020 season progressed, so did Myers. He saw his playing time increase to just over seventeen minutes per game. Through fifty games, Myers totaled sixteen points, fourty-four blocked shots, eighty hits, and a plus-minus rating of seventeen. In the postseason, he maintained his performance quality. Through sixteen games, Myers tallied four points, fifty hits, seventeen blocked shots, and a plus-minus rating of two.
After Matt Niskanen announced his retirement, it became even more crucial that Philadelphia extended Myers’ contract. On the right side of the defense, he will be ready to take on a larger role than his top-four label in 2019-2020. When the puck drops in the first Flyers game of 2020-2021, Myers could find himself across from Ivan Provorov on the top pair. Taking his place alongside Travis Sanheim would likely be Erik Gustafsson, a defenseman signed this offseason who possesses the flexibility to play on either side.
An opportunity to play on the top pairing with Provorov is enough to retain Myers in Philadelphia. “It would be an honor to play with someone like him,” Myers said of Provorov.
Myers turned in a quality second season with the Flyers, furthering his development in every category following 2018-2019. His progression was noticed, especially from his new potential linemate. “He moves the puck and is able to shoot it well, too. If we play together, it shouldn’t take us long to get used to playing together,” said Provorov.
Doug Shepherd, Myers’ agent, communicated that he and Philadelphia are close to an agreement, open to a short-term or long-term contract extension. Promotion to the top pair for Myers would be ideal for the Flyers to compliment Provorov’s offensive traits. The future linemates have limited playing time together. One recent moment both shared was during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. Both Myers and Provorov had the honor of scoring a game-winning goal against the New York Islanders in overtime during the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Suddenly, Philadelphia can navigate the defensive lineup with clarity. Throughout all of the 2020 offseason, the glaring question was, “who replaces Niskanen?” The Flyers are presumably a few days away from finalizing that conundrum. After the Flyers and Myers finalize a contract extension, everything else will fall into place.
