Flyers sign restricted free agent winger Tyson Foerster to a two-year contract extension

One down.

The Flyers have agreed to terms with winger Tyson Foerster on a two-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday.

The bridge deal will carry an average annual value of $3.75 million. Foerster will be a restricted free agent again when the deal expires in 2027.

“I’d love to be here forever. I love it here,” Foerster said at his end-of-season chat with the media in April. “It’s great to play here, and the guys are great. I just want to get better every day, really, so could be a short-term deal, it could be long term, but whatever it is, I’m happy to be here.”

At just 23, the winger keeps getting better.

After notching seven points (three goals, four assists) in an eight-game cameo during the 2022-23 season, Foerster had an impressive rookie campaign in 2023-24. He finished tied for third among rookies with 20 goals and 10th in points (33) in 77 games.

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This past season, despite yet another slow start, the Ontario native ended on a high note with nine goals in his last nine games, including his first career hat trick on April 9 against the New York Rangers. He finished the season with 25 goals and 43 points in 81 games.

“I think I was getting chances earlier before, too, I just wasn’t able to score. But finally, the puck started going in for me in waves,” Foerster said about his end-of-season surge.

General manager Danny Brière has repeatedly said how impressed he has been with Foerster, who “brings another level” of skill to the Flyers’ lineup.

The winger gained another bump in confidence playing for Canada at the recent IIHF men’s World Championships. Although Canada finished a disappointing fifth, Foerster had two goals and three points, including one goal he may have foreshadowed.

When asked at the end-of-season press conference what he wanted to work on for next season, aside from getting off to a quicker start, Foerster said: “I think maybe trying to beat defenders one-on-one.” Against Sweden, he drove around defenseman Marcus Pettersson before scoring on Jakob Markström.

Tournament favorite Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Denmark, which lost to Sam Ersson and Sweden in the bronze-medal game.

Foerster played a key role by using his 6-foot-2 frame to find time and space for himself and his linemates. Although he is known for his shot, according to NHL Edge, he scored 15 goals this season from either atop the crease or down in the blue paint.

But while Foerster has made good on his junior hockey reputation as a goal scorer, his rapid development away from the puck as an all-around player is all anyone in the Flyers organization wants to talk about.

“He’s an impressive young man, as far as his maturity, as far as being a pro. I think he’s never taken anything for granted, which some young players can,” interim coach Brad Shaw said in early April. “It took him a while to maybe figure out where he fits in at the NHL level. He seems way more comfortable in his own skin.”

The analytics back up Foerster’s defensive growth. Over the last two seasons, the winger ranks eighth among NHL forwards in Evolving Hockey’s even-strength defensive goals above replacement metric (8.6).

The Flyers still have to sign restricted free agents Cam York, Jakob Pelletier, and Foerster’s linemate, Noah Cates. Foerster, Cates, and winger Bobby Brink served as arguably the Flyers’ best line in 2024-25.

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According to Natural Stat Trick, across 568 minutes, 31 seconds of ice time at five-on-five — the most of any Flyers trio by a wide margin — they outscored opponents, 29-23. The Flyers had 52.2% of the scoring chances when they were on the ice and 58.1% of the high-danger chances. Known to crash the net while maintaining the key foundational structure of the triangle, the Flyers also generated 47 rebound attempts with those three on the ice.

And they did it while playing against the NHL’s top lines.

“That kind of makes me smile,” new Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet told The Inquirer when asked about their foundational attributes, “because to have that type of line, whether I use that line like that or whatever, but the language you just said, the triangles, the reloads. But there are also certain things I can help them with, and my staff too. Is there something that can help them with creativity? Are there other ways to explore?

“I already have some ideas on how to explore offensively, using the weak side more. It might be a little more risky, but I think the rewards are more. If you can come up with a system, especially offensively, where the rewards are big and the risk is not — there’s going to be risk, but it’s kind of minimal — I’m all for it. I just don’t like playing a risky game. I think, in the long run, it doesn’t win.”