The Philadelphia Flyers announced today, September 12th, that they have signed defenseman Ivan Provorov to a six-year contract worth $40.5 million ($6.75 million AAV). Provorov played in all 82 games for the Flyers last season, in which he produced seven goals and 19 assists. Drafted seventh overall of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by Philadelphia, he has appeared in 246 career NHL games, over which he has recorded 30 goals and 67 assists. The 22-year-old defenseman has only played for the Flyers organization over his three season NHL and professional career.
My Reaction: In theory, this is a good deal for the Flyers and will end up looking like a steal a few years down the road. Provorov has the potential to be a franchise defenseman and he had an outstanding 2017-18 season in which he played up to his true potential, but then he took a major step back last season. Hopefully, it was just a bad year and he’ll rebound this season because if he does (and I think it’s likely) he has a really bright future ahead of him and he’ll be a huge part of the Flyers eventually returning to the playoffs. He’s a gifted offensive defenseman who’s a great skater and is able to direct the pace of the game, especially when he has the puck on his stick. He has an accurate shot and quick release, but he’s also a great passer who is very good at finding his teammates and he knows how to use them quite well. He can create offense on the power-play, at even strength, and even on the penalty kill and overall, he’s a complete, two-way defenseman who can score and is great at executing plays.
Even though last season was pretty rough for him, he was still a good defenseman, just not at the level his new contract would suggest and that he has shown that he can be. However, assuming that it was just a bad season, the Flyers shouldn’t regret this contract and it’ll likely end up looking very good for them when all is said and done as he continues to improve and the cap keeps going up. But, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens over the course of this upcoming season and in the ones beyond before we can know for sure that this was a good deal. I think it is though and will be a steal by the end of it, so you shouldn’t have anything to worry about, Philly fans!
This post will be updated with the full contract breakdown when it becomes available and more of my reaction as to how this will likely impact the Bruins in signing their RFA defensemen.
Hockey Addict 