The Flyers now have three restricted free agents left to sign.
One of the Philadelphia Flyers’ top young players has agreed to a new deal.
Forward Noah Cates, who became a restricted free agent on July 1, signed a two-year contract with an average annual value of $2.625 million, the Flyers announced Monday morning.
Cates filed for salary arbitration last week, but with a new contract finalized, he and the Flyers avoid the trouble of relying on a third party to determine a reasonable salary.
Cates excelled in his first full season as an NHLer. The 24-year-old posted 13 goals and 38 points in 82 games and established himself as one of the Flyers’ top two-way players as a rookie.
Cates, a natural winger, was thrust into taking reps at center with Sean Couturier sitting out the season due to lingering back issues. Before long, Cates became one of head John Tortorella’s favorite players and even drew comparisons to Couturier from his teammates.
"It's just really, really impressive what he was able to do," Travis Konecny told the media during his exit interview.
"I bring him up just because I played with him and I had an opportunity to play, like, half my games with him and just see what he can do, and for him to remind me that much of (Couturier) in his first season is really, really impressive."
The Flyers now have three restricted free agents left to sign — forwards Morgan Frost and Olle Lycksell and defenseman Cam York.