As the demand for centres only increases, the Philadelphia Flyers are making sure one of them doesn’t reach the market.
The Flyers have begun extension talks with centre Christian Dvorak before his period to sign opens up on Jan. 1, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday.
“The Flyers and Dvorak are talking extension,” Friedman said on Hockey Night in Canada’s Saturday Headlines segment. “I think everybody here would tell you that it has to work for both sides to happen.”
Dvorak joined the Flyers as a free agent on a one-year, $5.4 million contract in the summer. Because he only signed for one year, he’s unable to pen a longer-term deal until Jan. 1.
In 35 games with his new team, the 29-year-old has registered eight goals and 16 assists while skating an average of 16:59 of ice time per night.
While the deal is still no sure thing, as the two teams still have to hammer out details, Friedman explained that the general consensus around the league is that Dvorak will remain a Flyer.
“What I can say is that there’s other teams out there that do not expect Dvorak to hit the market now,” he said. “They think he’s gonna sign. But both sides have to make it work.”
Drafted 58th overall by the Coyotes in 2014, the Palos, Ill., native has 113 goals and 160 assists through 10 seasons split between Arizona, the Montreal Canadiens and the Flyers.