Christian Dvorak is sticking around Philly for the foreseeable future.
He just needed some help from Trevor Zegras first.
“It’s great. I think it’s well-earned. I think it’s a great deal for both sides,” Zegras said his buddy’s new deal before dropping this: “And, funny backstory, he had nobody to be his witness for signing the contract. So he drove over to my house last night at like 11 o’clock, and I was his witness.”
The late-night visit came after the Flyers announced the almost-30-year-old centerman was signed to a five-year, $25.75 million contract extension with an average annual value of $5.15 million. A team source confirmed to The Inquirer that the first two years of the deal come with a full no-trade clause while the third and fourth years carry a modified no-trade clause.
“We’re very happy to have Christian be a part of the Philadelphia Flyers for the foreseeable future,” general manager Danny Brière said in the news release. “He has played a pivotal role in our team’s success this season and proven to be a reliable, two-way center that can be trusted in all situations.
“More importantly, he plays a big role in our locker room and has fit in seamlessly to our group and what we are building.”
On July 1, after Dvorak signed a one-year, $5.4 million deal that many thought was an overpay, Brière said that players like him, Noah Juulsen, and Dan Vladař, “were willing to bet on themselves, which is awesome.” Dvorak reiterated Tuesday that he was doing just that this past summer.
And it paid off, with the term being one of the main things he was looking for.
“I’ve just loved my time being here, first off,” Dvorak said. “It’s a great group of guys. We have a lot of fun, and it’s been a good fit for me, and, yeah, just like where the team’s headed. We’re playing some good hockey this year, and I think we’re just headed in a good direction here.
“And that’s really important to me.”
However, there were several questions raised with his initial signing — amplified even more now — including where he would fit and what his signing meant for the team’s long-term outlook.
Brière said over the summer that the short-term deals the team handed out, including the one to Vladař, who was signed for two years, would provide flexibility as the Flyers work their way through a rebuild. It would allow them to keep their options open for free agency in 2026 — which always seemed to be earmarked as a big moment for the team.
But the market for centers and top-tier wingers dried up with Jack Eichel, Kirill Kaprizov, and even Connor McDavid signing extensions. A player comparable to Dvorak was 31-year-old center Alexander Wennberg, who signed a three-year, $18 million deal with the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.
With the salary cap rising, the amount Dvorak is getting paid isn’t the issue. But the number of years he got is a little eyebrow-raising, considering where the Flyers are in their rebuild and the drafted players expected to start making pushes in the coming years.
Jett Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt, two of the Flyers’ first-rounders from the past two drafts, and 2024 second-rounder Jack Berglund, who impressed at development camp and World Juniors, are expected to be centers in the NHL in the next one to three years. The only centers in Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League who could push next season are Jacob Gaucher and Karsen Dorwart, with the former a fourth-line type and the latter a former college free agent signing who projects as a bottom-six forward.
But, in the here and now, Dvorak has worked out.
Skating on a line with Zegras and Travis Konecny since Dec. 3, Dvorak is on pace for career numbers. He has 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 39 games, having missed one game in December with a lower-body injury.
The Illinois native is halfway to his career high in goals and is on pace to demolish his career high in points (38) set in 2019-20 when he skated for the Arizona Coyotes — and their then-coach, Rick Tocchet. Entering Tuesday, Dvorak is on pace for 18 goals and 51 points.
“I think it’s been pretty good,” Dvorak told The Inquirer in mid-December. “It’s been a good transition for the most part, coming in to a new team. They took me in right away. It’s a very tight-knit group, and it’s a good group to be a part of.
“And it helps knowing Tocc from prior, and I think it’s been a pretty smooth transition. It’s helped pretty much being with Zegras pretty much every game.”
Tocchet has relied heavily on Dvorak, as the former Coyote centers the top line, plays on the penalty kill, and was recently added to the power play. He has worked with Zegras in a hybrid center role where he takes the faceoffs and whoever is the first player back in the defensive zone fills the position of center.
Tocchet said in early December that Dvorak — who is sorely missed by his last team, the Montreal Canadiens, on and off the ice — was in more of a defensive role previously. Now he’s getting a chance to spread his wings offensively again.
“The one thing with Christian, he knows just because he signed this deal and he’s playing with Trevor, he’s still got to be Christian Dvorak,” Tocchet said on Tuesday, adding that it has helped the centerman’s season knowing his systems and their open line of communication.
“… That’s one thing that he’s really good at is knowing his identity — is being a really good two-way forward that can make plays, that can defend the puck and be a penalty killer. And he’s actually played a little bit of power play for us. So, a jack of all trades, and if he stays in that identity, he can be a good hockey player for you.”
According to MoneyPuck, among the Flyers lines that have played at least 65 minutes together, the trio ranks third in expected goals percentage (50.6%) and expected goals for per 60 minutes (2.9). They only recently have been clipped by the trio of Denver Barkey, Sean Couturier, and Owen Tippett.
“I’ve learned so much from him,” Zegras said in December. “[Looking] back to earlier in my career, like maybe when things weren’t going my way, I’d be screaming and slamming sticks on the bench, and saying all crazy stuff that doesn’t really help in a positive way.
“He’s as cool as a cucumber, and his famous line or expression is: it’s a game of runs. So that’s what I tell myself. It’s a game of runs. And you go back out there, you get ready to go for the next shift. So I just think that from the aspect of being himself, he’s a leader in that regard. And I’ve definitely learned a lot from him.”
With Dvorak signed, all eyes will turn to Zegras, who is a restricted free agent at season’s end and will command a hefty pay raise. Jamie Drysdale, Bobby Brink, Emil Andrae, Nikita Grebenkin, and Sam Ersson also are restricted free agents at season’s end. Nic Deslauriers, Carl Grundström, Rodrigo Ābols, and Noah Juulsen are the team’s only NHL unrestricted free agents next summer.
