As the end of the season drew near, it seemed as if re-signing Jakub Voracek was a no-brainer. Then the days and weeks passed and as the Flyers went after all of the big free agents, Voracek was left hanging.
Paul Holmgren finally locked up the 22-year-old Czech by signing him to a four-year, $17 million extension. Voracek was brought to Philadelphia as part of the package that sent Jeff Carter to Columbus.
In his first season with the Flyers, Voracek scored 18 goals and recorded 31 assists in 78 total games. Voracek never really had a permanent home last season, always moving up and down lines.
There is a huge hole left on the top line with Jaromir Jagr’s departure and Holmgren made it clear that by signing Voracek to this extension, they have full faith that he is a top line winger.
“We kind of envision Jake playing with Claude this year,” Holmgren told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s the way we look at it.”
Voracek’s cap hit is now $4.25 million cap hit which makes him the second-highest paid Flyers forward next season and sixth-highest on the team. He is even making more than Claude Giroux.
With Voracek’s play-making ability, he will just add to Giroux’s monstrous totals he recorded last season, numbers that will sure earn Giroux a hefty paycheck when his current deal expires in 2013-14.
