Flyers

Just hours before the Flyers kicked off their 2022-23 season Thursday night, Travis Sanheim signed an eight-year, $50 million contract extension.

[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXenWaHGZz4Ey4BObUUIyZQ) [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/60iLyWd51VnD7JP7F459sw) [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/flyers-talk-a-philadelphia-flyers-podcast/id1497383342) [Stitcher](https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/flyers-talk-a-philadelphia-flyers-podcast) "We're extremely happy to have Travis under long-term contract and see him as a key piece of our team's future," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said in a statement released by the team. Just hours before the Flyers kicked off their 2022-23 season Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center, Sanheim signed an eight-year, $50 million contract extension.

The Flyers have locked down defenseman Travis Sanheim for eight years with a $50 million extension that carries an average annual value of $6.25 million, ...

That said, when he’s been used in a top-pair role, his results have suffered — most likely, he’s best served as a No. Sanheim is a very solid defenseman; he’s long been a strong performer by advanced metrics, and the goal-based results finally matched up with the numbers last season. Sanheim was the Flyers’ highest-profile, highest-value potential unrestricted free agent this summer, a smooth skating, mid-20s puck-moving defenseman who certainly would have brought back a significant amount of value at the trade deadline had the two sides not been able to come to terms on a new deal.

On opening night of the 2022-23 regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New Jersey Devils, 5-2, at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday evening.

The Flyers had eight of the first 10 shots on goal in the third period. The Flyers will hold a noon practice on Friday at the FTC in Voorhees. The center's backhanded attempt at the ENG missed the net but Frost pounced on the puck and tried to center it to Laczynski near the net. New Jersey had each of the next four shots on goal and the Flyers struggled with failed clears against the forecheck. Frost had a near-miss opportunity on his first shot of the game and found the net on the second. Konecny got the Flyers off on running in the third period during a carryover power play. At 10:39 of the second period, Hayes made play at the offensive blueline to get the puck over to Konecny. In the second period, New Jersey outshot the Flyers by a 15-8 margin, but Philly put two of them in the cash register. New Jersey had 68.4 percent of all shot attempts in the period but Hart came up big when he had to as the Devils had 13 scoring chances overall and five of the high-danger variety per NaturalStatTrick. On opening night of the 2022-23 regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New Jersey Devils, 5-2, at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday evening. The first period was a hard-working and physical one for Philly (13 Flyers hits to five for New Jersey) but the Flyers got themselves in penalty trouble with three minors that left them shorthanded to one for New Jersey. The Flyers' head coach called attention to Nicolas Deslauriers throwing his weight around and registering two of his three credited hits on the night.

The Philadelphia Flyers, trying to rebound from the second-worst season in franchise history, start the 2022-23 Thursday by hosting the New Jersey Devils.

[PHN: 200 members of Tony DeAngelo’s Italian ‘Family’ Will Be at Flyers’ Opener](https://phillyhockeynow.com/2022/10/13/philadelphia-flyers-tony-deangelo-200-members-of-his-italian-opener-fans-holldell-relatives-family-new-jersey-devils-ivan-provorov-debut/) [Philadelphia Flyers13 hours ago](https://phillyhockeynow.com/2022/10/13/philadelphia-flyers-tony-deangelo-200-members-of-his-italian-opener-fans-holldell-relatives-family-new-jersey-devils-ivan-provorov-debut/) [Philadelphia Flyers10 hours ago ](https://phillyhockeynow.com/2022/10/13/philadelphia-flyers-new-jersey-devils-opener-lineups-stats-notes-how-to-watch-preview-hischier-carter-hart-mackenzie-blackwood/) [Philadelphia Flyers5 hours ago ](https://phillyhockeynow.com/2022/10/13/philadelphia-flyers-sign-travis-sanhiem-signs-50-million-deal-defenseman-chuck-fletcher-expensive-ivan-provorov-rasmus-ristolainen-tony-deangelo/) [FanDuel promo9 hours ago ](https://phillyhockeynow.com/2022/10/13/fanduel-promo-thursday-night-football-commanders-bets-chicago-bears-spread/) [Philadelphia Flyers3 hours ago ](https://phillyhockeynow.com/2022/10/13/philadelphia-flyers-5-observations-kids-are-impressive-travis-konecny-ivan-provorov-carter-hart-5-2-score-new-jersey-devils-opener/) 3 to No. Of that group, Attard is the only one who won’t play Thursday. He is the 14th-winningest coach in NHL history and has a 673-541-169 record, a .548 points percentage. New Jersey has more firepower, even without center Nico Hischier, who is injured and will not play Thursday. The Devils weren’t much better, collecting 63 points. The Flyers had 61 points.

The Philadelphia Flyers open the season Wednesday night in a rivalry game against the New Jersey Devils, featuring last year's Metropolitan Division ...

[push to land Johnny Gaudreau during free agency](https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/flyers/no-johnny-gaudreau-chuck-fletcher-talks-flyers-decision-offseason-plan)over the summer and he ended up inking a $68 million deal with Columbus. - First-year head coach John Tortorella was hired in June to help, in his own words, stabilize the team. [for the entire season](https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/34643952/philadelphia-flyers-assume-defenseman-ryan-ellis-miss-season) with a back injury, center Sean Couturier re-aggravating his back post-surgery and the club's second-leading goal scorer, winger Cam Atkinson, [ruled out of today's contest](https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/flyers/cam-atkinson-out-season-opener-promising-news-and-more-flyers-injuries) with an upper-body injury. When asked about that, Tortorella said: " [Is it time to sign a free agent like that?](https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/flyers/flyers-have-2022-23-roster-start-season-john-tortorella-has-his-blueprint)" [worst record in the NHL](https://www.inquirer.com/sports/betting/nhl/nhl-worst-record-odds-philadelphia-flyers-futures-john-tortorella-20221005.html) and whether they should just ["tank" the season](https://www.inquirer.com/flyers/flyers-tank-draft-connor-bedard-matvei-michkov-20220813.html) in hopes of landing projected No. [the future of hockey](https://thehockeynews.com/news/meet-the-future-of-hockey-13-year-old-connor-bedard)" when he was as young as 13, and the now 17-year-old is being billed as a once-in-a-lifetime talent with comparisons to Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.

Sanheim, 26, was the team's best defenseman last season and is now signed through the 2031 season.

[Tony DeAngelo](https://www.google.com/search?q=inquire+deangelo&oq=inquire+deangelo&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l2j69i61.3134j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8), Ristolainen, and Sanheim — locked in through at least next season. The Flyers drafted Sanheim No. It’s a huge day not only for me, but for my family and friends as well,” said Sanheim in the release. “To be drafted not only by Philly, but in Philly, and now to sign a long-term deal here, it means a lot. Playing mostly alongside a new partner in Rasmus Ristolainen, Sanheim found what had been elusive consistency at both ends of the rink. “We’re extremely happy to have Travis under long-term contract and see him as a key piece of our team’s future,” general manager Chuck Fletcher said in a team release.

The Philadelphia Flyers signed defenseman Travis Sanheim to an eight-year, $50 million contract.

He was selected by Philadelphia 17th overall in the 2014 NHL draft and made his NHL debut in 2017. "To be drafted not only by Philly, but in Philly, and now to sign a long-term deal here, it means a lot. It's a huge day not only for me, but for my family and friends as well," said Sanheim in a statement.

The fans know it. The stat nerds know. And after three weeks of training camp practices and preseason games, new head coach John Tortorella appears to realize ...

He noted that the team lacked “high-end scorers,” and that they would have to “score by committee.” While Tortorella regularly praised to work ethic and effort of his players in camp, he quickly came to the realization that this wasn’t going to be a quick fix. “And we have to go about it that way, no matter what people think. [Hope-O-Meter poll](https://theathletic.com/3666578/2022/10/07/nhl-hope-o-meter/) — that reached nearly 600 Flyers fans — just 1.7 percent of them were optimistic about the team this season.

Travis Konecny, 25, and Morgan Frost, 23, scored two goals apiece to pace the Flyers in John Tortorella's first game behind the bench as head coach.

Instead, he tried to squeeze in as much practice as possible, but it wasn’t the same, of course. They then failed to set up and lost possession of the puck. Hart let in a soft opening goal, but the Flyers’ penalty kill had looked good prior. Rather than playing simple, players were trying to do too much at times, and they didn’t always take care of the puck. In the first period, there were a combined six penalties. It wasn’t just the players they acquired this offseason in an effort to be “tougher,” either. “I just tried to do a lot of the right things,” Konecny said. The Flyers’ box was busier than the Devils. But the defense and goalie Carter Hart held strong, before Frost iced the game with an empty-netter with under two minutes to play. Although the results now count, Tortorella’s approach is similar to the preseason. Hayes, who made a nifty move to keep the play onside, found Konecny streaking up the center of the ice, and Konecny beat Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood clean. Wade Allison, 24, quickly responded to the Devils’ opening power-play goal by tying it up just 23 seconds later.

Philly Rob! ... Is that plaid? You think this guy is nervous about Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins performing? Not when he's looking like Brooks Brother's ...

Don’t waste them on the guys who aren’t playing this season. You think this guy is nervous about Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins performing? Is that plaid?

Travis Sanheim signed an eight-year, $50 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. It has an average annual value of $6.25 million.

Me and Chuck [Fletcher] talked at the end of last season that it was a priority to get something done in the offseason, and he stuck with his word, and I'm happy to get the extension." "On my last deal, I was able to have that in that I could be walking to UFA. The 26-year-old defenseman, who is in the final season of a two-year contract he signed with Philadelphia on Aug.

The Flyers opened their season Thursday with a 5-2 win over the visiting New Jersey Devils. Travis Konecny led the way with two goals.

[Travis Sanheim](https://phillyhockeynow.com/2022/10/13/philadelphia-flyers-sign-travis-sanhiem-signs-50-million-deal-defenseman-chuck-fletcher-expensive-ivan-provorov-rasmus-ristolainen-tony-deangelo/) on the second pairing. [200 Members of Tony DeAngelo’s Italian ‘Family’ Attend Flyers’ Opener](https://phillyhockeynow.com/2022/10/13/philadelphia-flyers-tony-deangelo-200-members-of-his-italian-opener-fans-holldell-relatives-family-new-jersey-devils-ivan-provorov-debut/) [subscribe to PhHN+](https://phillyhockeynow.com/membership/membership-levels/)for all of our members-only content from the entire Philadelphia Hockey Now crew plus an ad-free browsing experience. [Philadelphia Flyers18 hours ago ](https://phillyhockeynow.com/2022/10/13/philadelphia-flyers-sign-travis-sanhiem-signs-50-million-deal-defenseman-chuck-fletcher-expensive-ivan-provorov-rasmus-ristolainen-tony-deangelo/) Tony DeAngelo and New Jersey’s Nathan Bastian went off for roughing late in the period. It came just 23 seconds after Holtz’s goal, which was a good sign. … Justin Braun took Risto’s spot next to He had two assists, five hits, 10 blocks — one that saved a goal — and was plus-4. New Jersey capitalized on one of the penalties, taking a 1-0 lead as Alexander Holtz’s left-circle shot trickled through Hart, who will want that one back. After giving up a rather soft power-play goal in the first period, he was very good the rest of the way. He was in a collision with Ondrej Palat, and no injury update was available after the game. We’ve just been skating (hard), and it just shows that, no matter what happens out there, as long as you stay together and put your head down and go to work, good things are going to happen for you.” Konecny put his slot shot through a defenseman’s legs and past sprawling goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.

Today's open discussion thread, complete with your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news and notes…

[ [The Athletic](https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com%2F3690921%2F2022%2F10%2F13%2Fflyers-travis-sanheim-extension%2F%3Fsource%3Duser_shared_article&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.broadstreethockey.com%2F2022%2F10%2F14%2F23403195%2Ffriday-morning-nhl-philadelphia-flyers-fly-by-the-flyers-are-undefeated-morgan-frost-carter-hart)] [

The Flyers are undefeated with Nic Deslauriers in the lineup.

It looked quite sloppy and disjointed at times — much like it did last season — but the Flyers did manage to break through and convert on a power play. Konecny and Frost both delivered in the offensive zone, and it was great to see Wade Allison buzzing around. It’s the first game, had some bad minutes and some really good minutes, but we found a way to win, so they should feel good about themselves and hopefully that’ll just build for us.” Frost, in particular, needed to have a night like this, so it’s hard not to be pleased with his strong showing. Carter Hart got a chunk of Holtz’s wrist shot, but not enough of it to keep it from trickling past the goal line. The Flyers performed quite well! [Vancouver Canucks](https://www.nucksmisconduct.com) when they welcome the Canadian squad to town for an afternoon tilt on Saturday. Wade Allison, who buried the Flyers’ first goal of the night just 23 seconds after Holtz opened the scoring, stood out as well. Morgan Frost, who’s entering the most crucial campaign of his young career, also netted a pair of tallies. Devils rookie Alexander Holtz scored the first goal of his NHL career eight minutes into the first period to break the ice. But the Flyers not only managed to beat the Devils, but even look fairly solid doing it. “There are so many aspects of being a hard team to play against, and that’s a team that has a little bit of poise when things aren’t going well for them and they find the way to get back into swinging the momentum their way.

The Flyers beat the Devils in their season opener and it was the club's young players that led the way.

And it was the club’s most important players — the 25-and-younger crew — that led the way. It was full of veterans either coming off underwhelming seasons, in-prime players that look more like useful support pieces rather than impact performers and then a bunch of unproven youngsters. [New Jersey Devils](https://theathletic.com/nhl/team/devils/) in their season opener.

A weekly compendium of news, thoughts and analysis written by contributing writer Bill Meltzer · 1. "A find-a-way league": · 2. Hart settled in well in the opener ...

The Flyers have a noon practice on Friday at the FTC in Voorhees and then host the Vancouver Canucks in a 4 p.m. As Tortorella said, all that mattered in the end was that the Flyers found a way to win. Lastly, there is a full weekend slate of games involving Flyers prospects in the NCAA, CHL and Europe. In the head coach's view, it was Deslauriers banging bodies around on a shift that happened shortly before the goals that turned a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 Flyers lead. Tortorella said that this brought the Flyers team as a whole back into the fight after the Devils were starting to impose their will. Due to a series of injuries, Allison only appeared in one NHL game last season (and suffered an MCL sprain that kept him out for a month). A lack of resilience in the face of adversity was a major problem for the Flyers in each of the last two seasons. For the Flyers to respond the right way and get rewarded was encouraging. After a 2021-22 season that was highly disappointing from a team perspective and inconsistent by the standards of his best previous individual seasons, Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov was in his "Ivan Drago" mode in Thursday's opener. Yeo then said that the next challenge for Frost -- as well as Owen Tippett and others -- would be to perform to an elevated level when momentum is going against the Flyers and not just when things are clicking for the club as a whole. Frost's performance in Thursday's opener was a good one over the final 45 minutes or but far from the best game of his career. Carter Hart missed the entire preseason schedule due to lower-body injury sustained in a collision around the net on the third day of training camp.

Flyers winger Scott Laughton checks Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton during the first period on Thursday night. The Flyers outhit the ...

“I just want the team that plays against us to say, ‘Man, they play hard,’” Tortorella said. In the third period, the Flyers rarely were hard to play against. The Flyers didn’t always appear poised in that third period, but they showed enough to bear down and earn the victory. When the Flyers went to the locker room for the second intermission up, 3-1, assistant coach Brad Shaw reminded the team of the difficulty of playing with a lead. “Everybody took the hit when they needed to take the hit or pinned somebody against the boards when they needed to. Hard teams to play against fight through that hesitation and get back to their game.