Philly filling his wallet
Konecny agrees to 6-year, $33M deal to remain with Flyers
VOORHEES, N.J. — Travis Konecny has come a long way in his first three years with the Flyers, and on Monday he got rewarded for that effort.
Konecny was signed to a new sixyear, $33 million contract. The Flyers wanted to get Konecny signed as quickly as possible because they didn’t want him missing valuable training camp time.
There’s a possibility he could be seeing action on the team’s top line at some point and the Flyers want to get off to a fast start this season for a change.
“We are happy to have Travis under contract for the next six seasons,” said general manager Chuck Fletcher. “Travis has shown progression in each of his three seasons and is an integral part of our group of young forwards. His speed, skill and tenacity set him apart in today’s NHL.”
The 22-year-old is entering his fourth professional season. He has appeared in 163 of a possible 164 games over the past two seasons and is coming off a career-best season of 24 goals and 25 assists for 49 points.
He recorded eight multi-point games in 2018-19, including a three-point game
(one goal, two assists) Nov. 23 versus the New York Rangers.
“I’m really excited about signing with the Flyers and being able to call Philadelphia home for the next six years,” Konecny said. “I can’t wait to get back with my teammates and start a new relationship with the coaching staff. It’s on me now to work hard and make up for the couple days I wasn’t able to be here.”
Konecny made his NHL debut on Oct. 14, 2016, against Los Angeles, posting a two-assist game for his first NHL points. He joined the Flyers following a three-year career in the Ontario Hockey League with Ottawa and Sarnia, during which time he represented Team Canada at the 2016 World Junior Championships.
A native of London, Ontario, Konecny was selected by the Flyers in the first round (24th overall) of the 2015 NHL entry draft. He ranks seventh among all players in the 2015 draft class in goals (59) and ninth in overall points (124).
Hart happy to have Elliott back: Carter Hart hasn’t started calling his backup goalie “Uncle Brian” just yet, but few would be surprised if he did.
The Flyers’ second-year netminder is obviously pleased the Flyers decided to re-sign veteran Brian Elliott during the offseason. Not only do the two players have a comfortable relationship, the 21-year-old Hart acknowledges he’s still in the learning phase of his career and can pick up a lot from the 34-year-old Elliott during the 2019-20 campaign.
“We get along really well,” Hart said after a practice. “I split time playing with him, Michal [Neuvirth] and Cam [Talbot] last season. They were all really great to me.
“Moose [Elliott] is a veteran goalie; he’s played in the NHL a long time. I’m excited to play alongside him for a full season. I learned a lot from him last year with how he approaches the game, how hard he works.
“I mean he’s the first guy here in the morning, warming up and taking care of his body. I commend him for that and really respect that.”
The Flyers want to get the most out of Hart. But they don’t want to wear him down and make him susceptible to injuries, either.
Barring someone getting hurt, look for something like a 55/27-game split for the two goalies. Hart said he isn’t looking too far ahead.
“I mean for me right now, I take things day by day,” Hart said. “I don’t get too ahead of myself. I’m just really excited to get things going here Oct. 4.
“We added some key additions this summer. I’m just starting to get to know these guys. I’m really looking forward to a very long season.”
Hart played for Canada at last spring’s World Championships and that team was coached by Flyers bench boss Alain Vigneault.
What are Hart’s impressions of AV?
“Over there, he was awesome,” Hart said. “The guys really liked him. He seems like a player’s coach. Guys got along with him really well. He’s easy to talk to.
“He has a bit of a sense of humor as well. I know guys can really appreciate that. Over there, it was mostly about hockey; back here, it’s all Flyers. I know he’s definitely excited to get things going.”
Hart showed remarkable poise for a rookie last season and seems impervious to the “pressure” of social media and so forth.
“Honestly, all that outside noise doesn’t matter at the end of the day if you don’t get the job done,” he said. “For me, that’s all I have to worry about.
“We have 24 people on the roster, and if everyone does their job we’re going to have a lot of success. At the end of the day, all that matters is this group. All that outside noise, we need to block out and just worry about what’s inside this locker room.”
Flyers lose preseason opener: Ex-Flyer Luca Sbisa scored the deciding goal at 2:24 of the third period as the Islanders beat the Flyers 3-1. James van Riemsdyk scored at 4:27 of the second period to pull the Flyers even after Thomas Hickey scored on starting goalie Brian Elliott at 2:03 of the first period. The Islanders added a late empty-net goal.
Short shots: The Flyers’ morning skates will return to the Wells Fargo Center this season. The team had been skating before games at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. However, Vigneault has made it known he’s not a big morning-skate guy, so the schedule for these sessions could be sporadic. … The Lehigh Valley Phantoms signed forward Steven Swavely to a one-year AHL contract. Swavely, 27, played in 40 games last season, tallying seven assists. … The Flyers’ Warriors hockey team, captained by Pineville/Bucks County native Jim Young, coasted to an easy 16-3 win over the Pittsburgh Warriors on Monday afternoon at the WFC.