How the Flyers and RFA Noah Cates found common ground on a new contract
Continuing the trend from last week’s re-signing of right winger Tyson Foerster, the Philadelphia Flyers took care of some house cleaning Tuesday morning, announcing they’d re-signed pending RFA Noah Cates to a four-year, $16 million contract. As I reported on X yesterday, the deal will pay Cates $5 million in year one ($1.25 in signing bonus), $4 million year two ($1 million in signing bonus), $4 million in year three and $3 million in year four.
Last month I reported (based on what I had heard from both sides) that the Flyers and the 26 year old, 2017 fifth-round draft pick seemed destined for arbitration. As early as this past Saturday, I was told that the sides were still well apart on a contract, with the player’s camp looking for a number closer to $5 million with the team still “closer to $3 million.” According to a source, the Flyers’ viewed AAV for Cates was below $3 million at the beginning of the season.
As to what fast tracked this once-stalemate of a negotiation seems to be as simple as the player really wanting to stay in Philadelphia. According to multiple sources, the player’s camp was pushing hard for a one- or two-year deal which would’ve walked Cates to UFA status in 2026 or 2027; considering where Cates’ game was trending, he could’ve been well set up for a nice payday on the open market. The team was more in line with something in the three to four year range, looking to buy up some UFA years and get some cost certainty on a player who was arguably their best centerman last season.
According to a source, Cates wanting to commit to the Flyers for more than two years got the ball rolling on the eventual agreement. In an effort to get the AAV to an even $4 million, the player’s camp committed to a fourth year; for the team, bumping up the AAV was a worthwhile cost to pay for locking up an additional UFA year.
The deal is a solid one for Cates, who delivered a career-best 16 goals this past season. Getting a $4 million AAV could be viewed as an overpay for a player with relatively limited offensive production, even with the salary cap set to skyrocket in the coming seasons. But with the way Cates is developing as a two-way pivot, he stands to be a bargain at that number if his offensive game can take moderate steps over the duration of his contract.
From the Flyers’ side, they had a firm number in mind on a longer-term contract with Cates that they were not prepared to (significantly) budge on. The Nicolas Roy five-year, $15 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights was often brought to me as a comparable when discussing Cates’ next deal with team sources; with that deal being signed three years ago, it only makes sense that Cates’ AAV got to $4 million with the salary cap on the rise in the coming years. The Flyers were adamant that they were not going higher than that number, which is why they were bracing for arbitration over the (at times) turbulent negotiations. According to one source, the negotiations between the Flyers and the Cates camp had been ongoing for “months and months.”
For the next few years, Cates will be viewed as (no less than) the team’s third-line center. The Flyers are in a desperate way down the middle for the coming season, so there is a possibility that Cates, as he did last season, will play higher in the lineup in 2025-26. But with 2024 first round selection Jett Luchanko on the horizon and the Flyers locked and loaded with three first-round picks (including the sixth overall) in the upcoming NHL Draft, you can be sure that they will be focusing in large part on bolstering their centers in the pipeline.
According to a team source, the team does plan to add a center in free agency this summer, but it won’t be a major addition; as I wrote about a few weeks back, names like Adam Gaudette or Pius Suter (who played for new head coach Rick Tocchet with the Vancouver Canucks) are those I’d expect the team to target. They have been tied to Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi, but as I reported earlier in the week, I don’t believe there is a large enough desire on the Flyers’ side to not only pay up via trade, but also dish out the $49 million the player’s camp is reportedly looking for.
The Flyers still have one remaining RFA in defenseman Cam York. According to a team source, the Flyers and York (who is represented by Pat Brisson) have not had much movement on a contract. York, 24, had four goals and 17 points in 66 games last season. He just completed a two-year, $3.2 million contract he signed back in 2023.
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