Ivan Provorov Signs Long Term Deal for Over $40M

On the eve of the 2019-2020 training camp, Ivan Provorov’s new contract extension was announced late in the day. He’ll make $6.75M per season for six years.

Based on EvolvingWild’s awesome contract projection chart, Provorov signed very nearly the exact deal he was predicted to. This contract doesn’t include any trade protection, per Dave Isaac on twitter.

The Flyers are left with about $6.67M in cap space to sign RFA Travis Konecny. There is plenty of room there to do so.

This news comes just days after similar RFA defenseman, Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets, had his deal announced. Werenski, one of the closest comparables and one of the “big three RFA defensemen”, signed a three year bridge deal for $15M total. Many thought this would set the table for the other two: Provorov, and Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy.

The rumors throughout the offseason that Provorov’s camp was pushing for up to $10M/season seems to have fallen flat. This deal, should he follow an upward trajectory, could be a bargain for Philadelphia in the back half of the contract. Having a number-one defenseman (should he continue to grow) at under $7M/year is a steal.

Provorov seemed like the best case to go for a bridge deal. His underlying numbers on this most recent season were a step backwards from his outstanding first couple of seasons, and the Flyers can’t truly know what he’ll be in the future anymore. With this six year deal, they seem to trust that last season was an anomaly– not only for him, but for his teammates.

These bets have paid off in the past (see: Sean Couturier) and Provorov will be out to prove his worth.