SATURDAY QUICK HITS
* The Flyers announced yesterday that they have signed
Matt Read to a four-year contract extension. The deal is worth $14.5 million, with an annual cap hit of $3.625 million. Basically, Read received in the neighborhood of what his market value would have been as an unrestricted free agent this summer. Having UFA leverage drives a player's cost higher than a comparable restricted free agent and, at age 27, Read would have numerous suitors next summer.
Read has been one of best recent undrafted free agent signings the Flyers have made in their recent history. He is versatile enough to play any spot on the top three lines, as he is able to play either wing or center. He is a responsible two-way player with good hands and above-average hockey sense. He has plus speed. He keeps himself in excellent physical condition. All that he lacks is size. Overall, Read is the type of player than winning teams need.
The player made an immediate splash in the AHL after completing his collegiate career at Bemidji State University, posting 13 points in 11 late-season games on amateur tryout (ATO) status for the Phantoms in 2010-11. In the first year of his entry-level contract, he made the Flyers' NHL roster out of camp and went on to score 24 goals and 47 points in 79 games. He added five points in 11 playoff matches, and was one of the few Flyers who looked decent in the team's five-game loss to the New Jersey Devils in the second round.
Last year, Read played in Sweden during the lockout, joing Allsvenskan team Södertälje SK, at the behest of SSK player Emil Billberg (a close friend and former Bemidji State teammate). Read became an immediate fan favorite for his skill and two-way hustle, posting 24 points in 20 games. He centered the team's top line, most notably playing with New York Rangers forward Carl Hagelin and French national team forward Damien Fleury as his wingers.
Read returned to North America shortly before the end of the lockout. He was unexpectedly leading the Flyers in goal scoring -- as much a reflection of the team's slow start as anything else -- when he sustained a ribcage injury in the team's 6-5 win over Pittsburgh on Feb. 20. At the time, Read had seven goals and six assists for 13 points in the club's first 18 games.
The initial timetable on Read's injury was for him to miss at least one month of action. Instead, the player was back in the lineup on March 7; an absence of just six games. The early return ended up doing the player no favors, as he struggled for several weeks. Read went goalless and had just one assist in his first eight games after his return.
Thereafter, however, Read returned to his accustomed form. He rattled off a five-game point streak (two goals, three assists) and saw all-situational ice time for Peter Laviolette's club. There was one six-game span in which Read averaged over 20 minutes of ice time per game.
After going through another offensive downturn in the month of April, Read closed out the shortened season on an up note. He had a three-point game (one goal, two assists) amidst a four-game stretch in the next-to-last week of the season that saw him tally a pair of goals and post five points. Read finished the year with 11 goals and 24 points in 41 games, which prorates to a fairly similar rate of offensive output from his rookie year.
In the season to come, Read is likely to open the 2013-14 campaign as the right wing on Sean Couturier's line. Chances are that Read will continue to play in all game situations and will be plugged into other spots in the top nine as injuries and other team adversity dictates.
This season is the final one in which Read, whose entry-level contract carries a $900,000 cap hit, will be a cap-friendly bargain for the Flyers. However, if he continues to play at the level he's demonstrated when healthy during his first two NHL seasons, he will be worth the cap hit that kicks in next season.
*
Wayne Simmonds took a maintenance day yesterday and did not practice.
Michael Raffl and
Chris VandeVelde took turns on a line with Simmonds' projected linemates
Vincent Lecavalier and
Brayden Schenn. Raffl and VandeVelde are competing for the open third line left wing slot, although VandeVelde is a natural center. The former Edmonton Oiler is signed to a minor-league contract with the Phantoms but that does not preclude that deal being canceled in favor of a two-way NHL contract.
*
Samuel Morin played his first game of the QMJHL regular season last night for Rimouski in a 2-1 loss to Drummondville. He did not record a point or penalty, was minus-one and recorded five shots on goal.
*
Anthony Stolarz posted a 30-save shutout last night in the London Knights 3-0 win over the Plymouth Whalers.
*
Taylor Leier was credited with a pair of assists in the Portland Winterhawks' 9-2 romp over Prince George last night. He also took a pair of minor penalties.
*
Fredric Larsson was minus-two in his USHL debut, as the US National Team blew out the Youngstown Phantoms by a 9-3 count. The rugged Swedish defenseman also served a pair of minor penalties (cross-checking and holding) in the game.
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