According to ESPN’s John Buccigross, unrestricted free agent forward James van Riemsdyk has agreed to a contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. The deal is for five years, and is worth $35 million, or $7 million AAV (or cap hit) per season.
Source tells me James van Riemsdyk will sign a 5 year deal with @NHLFlyers. 7 million dollar cap number pic.twitter.com/evwaBEbm9o
— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) July 1, 2018
Philadelphia Flyers Sign Free Agent James van Riemsdyk
In van Riemsdyk, the Flyers get a perennial 30-goal scorer and a big net-front presence that works well in tight and gets his stick on the puck for the deflection. Van Riemsdyk scored 36 goals and 18 assists for 54 points in 81 games with the Leafs last season. He also added 30 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers are 55.6 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of +7.4. He added three goals and an assist in the Leafs first-round loss to the Boston Bruins.
In 2016-17 he scored 29 goals and 33 assists for 62 points. He also added 37 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 52.3 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of +2.4. He added two goals and an assist in the Leafs six-game first-round loss to the Washington Capitals.
Over his nine-year NHL career, van Riemsdyk has played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers. He has put up 201 goals and 192 assists for 393 career points in 609 career NHL games. Van Riemsdyk has added 18 goals and 11 assists for 29 points in 59 career playoff games. He was originally drafted in the 1st round, 2nd overall of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Flyers.
Van Riemsdyk has just finished a six-year, $25.5 million deal that he signed prior to the 2012-13 season. It was one of the best bargain contracts in the NHL, and van Riemsdyk has earned the big raise he is getting in his new contract.
October 19, 2016: Leafs James van Riemsdyk (25) takes a shot during the Winnipeg Jets vs Toronto Maple Leafs game at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg MB. (Photo by Terry Lee/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
