Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said that when the season ended, signing the team’s star winger Jakub Voracek to a long-term contract extension was his number one priority. Well, after making a huge splash earlier in the week by signing center Sean Couturier to a long-term extension, Hextall was able to cross Voracek off of his list as well when he was signed to an 8-year, $66 million dollar deal.
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The deal, which goes into effect at the start of the 2016-17 season, will have the 10th highest annual average value (AAV) in the league, making Voracek one of just five wingers making $8 million or more, just behind Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks, and just ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ newly acquired forward, Phil Kessel.
Despite the fact that Voracek has a significantly less polarizing personality than either Perry or Kessel, there is not actually a lot of disparity in the numbers between these three dominant players. Because while Jake did not truly break out into super-stardom until the 2014-15 season, he has been keeping pace with the elite for a couple of seasons now.
2012-13: The Lockout-Shortened Season
For any player during this era, one will always notice a season in which their stats did not quite reach the heights that they were accustomed to. However, this year did not seem out of the ordinary compared to Voracek’s previous seasons. That unto itself is out of the ordinary. The Czech winger finished just three fewer points than in the prior season, he also set a new career high in goals (22), and he did all of this in just 48 games.
When that season was said and done, Voracek finished with just four points less than Kessel and 10 more than Perry and did this while playing roughly two less minutes per game than the two All-Stars.
2013-14
The following season was a small step back for Voracek, although this could be attributed to a number of different things such as the questionable health of his line mate at the start of the season or the team’s jumbled coaching situation, but whatever the cause, his numbers did not live up to what the previous season would lead some to believe.
However, at the same time a step back for Jake Voracek is still a great season for most players, as he finished with new career highs in points (62) and goals (23), while leading the Flyers in plus-minus (11).
Perry and Kessel rounded out this season with 20 and 18 points over Voracek respectively, but having spent nearly three minutes less on the ice per game, his pace of 2.63 points per 60 minutes show that he wasn’t as far off from the 2.83 of Kessel and 3.12 of Perry.
Voracek also had much better possession numbers than either of the other two during this season, posting a 56.5 in Corsi For % at even strength, which easily compares to Perry’s 53.1 and Kessel’s 45.4.
That Brings us to Now…
This past season, Jake Voracek was among the most dominant players in the league, tying Alex Ovechkin for fourth in the league in points, and being voted as a First Team All-Star (a feat that Phil Kessel has never accomplished). Voracek was far and away the best player of the three last season in terms of points, as well as in terms of CF%.
The point is this: last season was no fluke for Jake Voracek and his numbers are no joke. The Flyers’ forward easily ranks up there with the league’s top wingers, and the large contract will be well worth it, as he and Giroux continue their fabulous chemistry for years to come.
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