The Philadelphia Flyers re-signed RFA defenseman Cam York to a five-year contract on Monday. York's new deal [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/breaking-flyers-sign-cam-york-to-new-deal] is worth an average annual value of $5.15 million, which is $50,000 more per year than Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers] teammate Rasmus Ristolainen's $5.1 million but less than Travis Sanheim's $6.25 million. The 24-year-old from Anaheim had four goals and 13 assists for 17 points in 66 games this past season, missing time with a shoulder injury and being benched twice in March [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/i-take-full-responsibility-cam-york-speaks-on-benching-tortorellas-impact-flyers-future]. His career-high 10 goals, 20 assists and 30 points in 82 games came in 2023-24. With York now under contract through the 2029-30 season, there are 11 RFA defensemen left in the NHL without a new deal. Cam York (Kyle Ross-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/9e4eeba4-33a4-4dfd-bc88-87efaff82823.jpeg] Cam York (Kyle Ross-Imagn Images) The highest-scoring of that bunch is 21-year-old Luke Hughes, who had 37 assists and 44 points in 71 games with the New Jersey Devils [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-jersey-devils] in 2024-25. Hughes completed his entry-level contract and was not eligible to file for arbitration [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/11-pending-rfas-file-for-arbitration-including-lukas-dostal-gabe-vilardi-and-more]. He's played two full NHL seasons and averaged just over 21 minutes in ice time in each. He has 93 points in 155 career games and another two points in four playoff contests. Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald told reporters on July 2 [https://www.nhl.com/devils/news/fitzgerald-luke-hughes-contract-no-1-priority-feature-7-2-25] that re-signing Hughes is their No. 1 priority. The Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres] elected for salary arbitration with Bowen Byram, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman [https://x.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1941978258498535433]. When an RFA or team elects for arbitration, that player can no longer sign an offer sheet with another franchise. Byram could still be traded, however. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/nhl-trade-rumors-blues-making-big-push-for-sabres-star] Byram, 24, had 38 points in 82 games this past season. He completed a two-year contract with a $3.85-million cap hit. The Winnipeg Jets [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/winnipeg-jets/latest-news/jets-barron-samberg-and-vilardi-file-for-arbitration]' Dylan Samberg, Sabres' Conor Timmins, Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-struble-elects-arbitration]' Jayden Struble and Anaheim Ducks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/lukas-dostal-drew-helleson-file-for-salary-arbitration]' Drew Helleson filed for player-elected arbitration [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/11-pending-rfas-file-for-arbitration-including-lukas-dostal-gabe-vilardi-and-more], the NHLPA announced Saturday. Samberg, 26, had 20 points and a team-leading 120 blocked shots this past season. His last contract was two years long at a $1.4-million cap hit. Timmins, 26, started this past season on the Toronto Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs] but was moved to the Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins] at the trade deadline. At the NHL draft, the Penguins traded him to the Sabres. He had 15 points and 90 blocked shots in 68 games in the final season of a two-year deal with a $1.1-million cap hit. Struble, 23, had 13 points and 124 hits in 56 NHL games. He's also played a combined 15 games for AHL [https://thehockeynews.com/ahl] Laval over the past two seasons. His entry-level contract lasted two seasons, but since he signed that deal before his age-22 campaign, he only needed to play two professional seasons to be eligible for arbitration. Helleson, 24, signed his three-year entry-level contract before his age-21 campaign, meaning he needed three pro seasons for arbitration eligibility. He had 13 points in 56 games while playing 12 matches for AHL San Diego in 2024-25. As for one of the five other RFA blueliners, the Seattle Kraken [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/seattle-kraken]'s Ryker Evans had 25 points in 73 games while playing for Team Canada at the 2025 World Championship. The four remaining players split this past season between the NHL and AHL: Wyatt Kaiser and Louis Crevier of the Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks], Jack Thompson of the San Jose Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks] and Donovan Sebrango of the Ottawa Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators]. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
