The Flyers and James van Riemsdyk each took a bit of a leap of faith in agreeing to a six-year contract extension that, beginning in the 2012-13 season, will pay JVR $4.25 million on the salary cap. He will earn $1.65 million on the cap this season, the third and final year of his entry-level contract.
For Philadelphia, this is another clear sign that the organization thinks that JVR turned the corner in the second half of last season (13 of his 21 goals in the regular season came after New Years) and especially during the playoffs (7 goals in 11 games). The best game of van Riemsdyk's career to date was unquestionably his performance in Game 2 of the Boston series, in which he was far and away the best player on the ice for either team. His play on that day was reminiscent of Eric Lindros at his best in the way that JVR combined brute force and finesse to do just about anything he wanted to do.
But JVR is still very much a work in progress when it comes to consistency. He does not always use his size as well as he should, and he will never be a player who regularly plays with a mean streak. When JVR uses his muscle down low and in front to open up room for his finesse game, the sky is the limit. When he tries to be a perimeter finesse player, he is more often than not unsuccessful. If his development stagnates at around the level he has shown over the balance of his first two NHL campaigns, the Flyers overpaid him.
All players have bad games. The challenge for van Riemsdyk entering his third NHL season and beyond is to avoid having one or two bad games turn into five or more in a row where you hardly notice him on the ice. But that is common for almost every young player in the league. It takes a few years to truly understand the rigors of the schedule as well as the challenge of playing night-in-and-night-out against the toughest competition in the world.
JVR followed up his career game in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with two mediocre ones in which he was no more effective than any of his teammates. JVR was also so-so at the World Championships after the conclusion of the Flyers' season. In fairness, he was jet-lagged and fatigued from having flown halfway around the world to rush into the Team USA lineup.
I think it says a lot about JVR's character and dedication that he even accepted the invitation to go play in the Worlds. As a product of the Team USA National Team Development Program, he was giving something back in attempting to help an American team that was having its share of problems in the tournament. While the World Championships are a high-profile, high-prestige event in Europe, it is of much lower priority as visibility in Canada and virtually nil in the United States (outside the Team USA realm). No one would have complained if JVR had begged off from traveling to Slovakia right on the heels of a short 2010 off-season and a grueling year that followed.
JVR's soft-spoken and laid back demeanor has often masked his devotion to his craft. He has made an annual habit of spending his summers working on building up his body to prepare for the next season. His off-seasons have pretty much been non-existent, and it has paid dividends in his fledgling NHL career. As he continues to mature, I don't think people will worry for long that the Flyers overpaid to re-sign him for six more seasons beyond the impending one.
It seems a bit strange now to recall that it was not all that long ago when many respected hockey people -- including some within the Flyers organization -- branded JVR as a "soft" country club type of kid who didn't have the inner drive or competitiveness to go the extra mile to win. He was maligned for spending an extra season in college hockey and questioned about his willingness to venture into high traffic areas. He was said to have too much of a Type-B personality to truly push himself to excel in the NHL, despite having been the second overall pick of the 2007 Entry Draft.
How quickly can things change in professional sports? That same kid who was all but dismissed for lacking internal drive is now being counted on, along with Claude Giroux, to become the marquee talent for this Flyers' franchise in the immediate future. Meanwhile, Mike Richards -- the "born Flyer" who played above his natural abilities and was hailed as an ideal future captain before he ever set foot in the NHL -- became persona non grata in the organization.
From JVR's perspective, the decision to extend the contract now also carries some risk. If he continues his development and plays at anything close to the level he showed in much of the Buffalo and Boston series, he could actually wind up being underpaid long before the new deal would expire.
Some folks have complained that JVR will be getting paid more than Giroux, who is clearly the team's best player right now on a much more consistent basis than van Riemsdyk. What they fail to realize is:
1) JVR's contract runs three seasons longer than Giroux's, and involves JVR giving up two years of UFA eligibility. That inflates the cost.
2) Giroux's next contract (which will likely be another one of the early extension variety if he continues to play at a high level) figures to be close to a franchise-player realm deal.
3) The market leaguewide blew up
after Giroux agreed to his new contract that kicks in this season. Prices inflated for just about everyone. That's part of the risk a player takes in going for the security of having an extension lined up before the off-season.
4) JVR isn't even making that much more than Giroux and I doubt Claude himself or his agent will lose a wink of sleep over it.
5) Things change in a hurry in hockey. A couple of years from now, JVR could be considered the Flyers' most important player, above even Giroux. Perhaps it will be Brayden Schenn. Perhaps even Sean Couturier. Who knows? A year ago, coming off a run to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, who would have figured that Richards and Jeff Carter would now be playing elsewhere? Nothing in hockey is permanent.
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This week's installment of
Across the Pond at NHL.com will take a look at Vesa Toskala's attempt to revive his career this season by signing with his hometown team in Finland, Ilves Tampere. Last year, Toskala was a man without a team (save for an unimpressive two-game stint in Sweden with AIK Stockholm when the team signed Toskala to a one-month contract after being racked by injuries in goal early in the season).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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