As Denver Barkey heads back to the London Knights after spending the last couple of months watching the Philadelphia Flyers' training camp from the sidelines, he reflects on his recovery from illness and coming back a stronger player than before. Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/] star forward Travis Konecny is having a magnificent 2024-25 season. He has been the club's top offensive contributor, leading the team with 18 goals, 25 assists, and 43 points in 39 games. With these numbers, he is on pace to have a career-best season. That is not to say that Konecny has not had great seasons before this one, though. In 76 games last season, he set career highs with 33 goals, 35 assists, and 68 points. This is after he had 31 goals and 61 points in 60 games in 2022-23. Due to how impactful of a player Konecny has been for the Flyers, they quickly signed him to an eight-year, $70 million contract extension [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/breaking-travis-konecny-signs-massive-eight-year-extension-with-flyers] this past off-season. It will kick in during the 2025-26 season, and it is clear that the Flyers made the right decision locking him up early. Travis Konecny & Sean Couturier [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjExODgxMDEzNDk0Njg3NzIw/usatsi_25093442.jpg] Travis Konecny & Sean Couturier Konecny has shown that he is a legitimate star in the NHL, and he is hitting a new level [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/flyers-superstar-is-hitting-brand-new-level] this season. Furthermore, had the Flyers waited to get this extension done, they may have needed to pay him more because of how much he is dominating this season. In addition, they avoided the possibility of losing Konecny to free agency this upcoming summer by signing him early. Thankfully, the Flyers don't need to worry about that now and already have their star locked up for a long time.
