Saturday, March 22, 2014

Flyers keep Raffl with contract extension

Following their 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, the  Philadelphia  Flyers announced the signing of forward Michael Raffl to a multi-year contract.

No terms of the deal were disclosed by the team, but CSNPhilly.com reported it's worth $2.2 million for two years with an average annual value of $1.1 million.

The 25-year-old winger has totaled nine goals and 12 assists in 56 games during his rookie campaign with Philadelphia. He was scheduled to become a restricted free agent following the completion of this season.

An undrafted player, Raffl participated in the Sochi Games as a member of his native Austria.

Raffl's signing -- and his versatility throughout all four forward lines -- most likely means a fond adieu to Steve Downie, who is an unrestricted free agent come July.

Downie, who has had it tough injury-wise since arriving here in late October, suffered an apparent head injury the club is calling "upper-body" early in the contest and he did not return. He seemed to click and be most comfortable with Sean Couturier and Matt Read on the third line.

Raffl, on the other hand, was the aggressive winger that Claude Giroux needed at times earlier in the season, is an effective penalty killer and has performed reasonably well with Vinny Lecavalier and Brayden Schenn. He's also been a stopper with Adam Hall on the fourth line when needed.

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