Cates excited for chance to help Flyers regain winning ways

EDINA, Minn. --Noah Cates said he's grateful he can spend the rest of the offseason worry-free after the 24-year-old forward signed a two-year, $5.25 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday to avoid an arbitration hearing. It has an average annual value of $2.625 million.

"We wanted to get a deal done, but arbitration allowed both sides a little bit of time," Cates said Wednesday at Da Beauty League, a 4-on-4 summer league for collegiate and NHL players with ties to Minnesota. "I'm happy with the deal, and we wanted to make them happy and hope to make this thing last for a while and get this ship in the right direction in Philadelphia. That's the big thing.

"But both sides are happy with where we came to right now."

Cates, who had been a restricted free agent, completed his first full NHL season with 38 points (13 goals, 25 assists) in 82 games. He averaged 17:46 of time on ice per game, having switched from wing to center, and led all NHL rookies with five game-winning goals.

"I think the culture really played a part in the consistency of my game," Cates said. "It helped me refine the details of my game. The coaching did, too.

"I think I can get a little bit faster, bigger and stronger. Conditioning is huge in this league, so those little things, along with face-offs, are some of the things I can work on. That and I want to make sure I know where I can find my shots, and [to] get some better shots that translate into goals is going to be big for me."

The Flyers, who finished 31-38-13 last season and failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a third straight time, made several changes this offseason in hopes of correcting that trend.

Among those moves were signing forward Ryan Poehling to a one-year, $1.4 million contract July 1; forward Garnet Hathaway to a two-year, $4.75 million contract ($2.375 million average annual value) the same day; defenseman Marc Staal to a one-year, $1.1 million contract on July 3; and defenseman Cam York to a two-year, $3.2 million contract ($1.6 million AAV) on July 10.

In addition, forward Cam Atkinson is expected to return after missing last season with a neck injury, and top-line center Sean Couturier is also expected to return; he has not played since Dec. 18, 2021, because of two back surgeries.

"I'm happy with this team and where we're going," Cates said. "It's going to be nice to have Sean Couturier back, he's been a great leader for us, and Cam Atkinson, another great leader. They've been around for a while, so I'm really excited to watch and learn from those guys and plug in some of these new veteran faces.

"Obviously we also have a younger core of guys, some of my best friends, so I'm excited to grow with them as well. So we got a little bit of an older core and a younger core, and if we get plugged in and clicking, I think it's going to be good for some years to come."