UPDATE 12:46 PM: Dave Isaac tweets that it’s a $25.5 million deal over the six year term, which would put the cap hit at $4.25 million per year. That’s more than Giroux makes, and that doesn’t make any sense to me. It’s not horrible if he can keep progressing, but well.. the focus is certainly going to be on him now, isn’t it?
UPDATE 12:39 PM: JvR tweeted that he’s “excited to sign a six year extension” and that he loves playing in Philly. No other details (like money and stuff) just yet.
It all started with a few tweets from his agent, hinting at big news on the James van Riemsdyk front. Now, Dave Isaac of Philly Sports Daily reports that according to a source, JvR has signed a contract extension with the Flyers and that the deal will be announced today. The Flyers announced the deal shortly after, but haven’t shared many details other than it’s a “multi-year” extension.
Reemer is under contract for the 2011-12 season, the final year of the entry level deal that hits the salary cap at $1.654 million per year. Any contract extension would thus go into effect for the 2012-13 season and beyond.
I look at this situation a lot like that of Claude Giroux, who signed a contract extension last season. That deal, a three-year, $11.25 million extension that begins this season, was a bit of a stop-gap between the big deal G will likely get from the Flyers before he’s able to become an unrestricted free agent in a few years. He stays affordable for a few more years while still getting a worthy raise, and it’s expected that he gets the long-term deal he deserves once that extension runs out.
I’d expect (well, maybe hope is the right word) that JvR’s extension is similar — he’ll earn a worthy raise while still not breaking the bank, and it’ll be a shorter extension that’ll keep him under Flyers control as an RFA at its conclusion. We’ll find out details sooner rather than later.
