Couturier signs eight-year, $62 million contract extension with Flyers

Sean Couturier signed an eight-year, $62 million contract extension with the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday that begins next season. It has an average annual value of $7.75 million.

The 28-year-old center will play the final season of a six-year contract he signed July 28, 2015. He could have become an unrestricted free agent.
"You want to get paid, you want to earn what you're worth, but at the same time I want to win a Stanley Cup, a championship," Couturier said Friday. "I didn't want to break the bank or get all the money. I just wanted to secure myself for the next eight years, nine years. I just wanted to make it a fair deal for both of us and this is what we came down to. ... It's just another way to kind of try to help the team and really excited to be part of this group for the upcoming years."
This offseason, Philadelphia added forwards Cam Atkinson, Nate Thompson and Derick Brassard, defensemen
Keith Yandle
, Rasmus Ristolainen and Ryan Ellis, and goalie
Martin Jones
. Forwards Jakub Voracek (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Nolan Patrick (Nashville Predators), and defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere (Arizona Coyotes), Philippe Myers (Predators) and Robert Hagg (Buffalo Sabres) were traded, with Patrick later being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Couturier said the number of changes reminds him of his rookie season, 2011-12, when he arrived with Voracek, Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn after the Flyers had traded top-six forwards
Mike Richards
and Jeff Carter. Philadelphia reached the Eastern Conference Semifinals that season.
"There were a lot of changes, big names left, but a lot of new players came in," he said. "There was excitement back then, it kind of feels the same way. Now we lost some big names, some good players, but a lot of good players coming in here and a lot of excitement."
Couturier scored 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists) in 45 games last season. He was fourth on the Flyers in points and second in goals, two behind forward Joel Farabee.

Selected by Philadelphia with the No. 8 pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, Couturier has scored 443 points (174 goals, 269 assists) in 692 regular-season games and 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 39 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"This guy's an elite hockey player," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said Thursday. "I don't know, maybe I like him more than some other people, but he is extremely good offensively, is extremely good defensively, is great on face-offs, he's a play driver. ... When we're down a goal we play him, when we're up a goal we play him. He's a rare talent. You just can't find these players.
"Sean would have been very richly rewarded had he become [an unrestricted free agent] next summer and we're thrilled that he worked with us to give us a cap hit that we were able to get. To have a No. 1 centerman at $7.75 million is a real advantage for our club as we try to build around him, as we try to build a Stanley Cup winning team."
Couturier won the Selke Trophy, voted as the best defensive forward in the NHL, in 2019-20 when he led the League in face-off winning percentage (59.6 percent, minimum 750 attempts) and was second in defensive-zone face-off winning percentage (59.5 percent).
Fletcher said he thought it was important to settle with Couturier now rather than wait until after next season.
"Certainly if this contract extension was hanging over Sean's head and the organization's head, I think it would have been difficult, it could have become a distraction," Fletcher said. "I think we, in speaking with Sean a lot this summer, our goal was to find a fair deal and to get it done this summer so that we can all focus on what we want to focus on next season and that's winning hockey games."
Fletcher said Couturier's new contract has a full no-move clause, with a limited no-trade clause in the final season.
"Sean is a cornerstone of this team, and we are thrilled that he'll be in Orange and Black for years to come," Flyers governor Dave Scott said. "With his leadership, grit, and ability on both ends of the ice, Sean is essential to the future of this team, and we couldn't be happier to keep him in Philadelphia for the long term."
NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman contributed to this report