The two defensemen who dominated offensive minutes for the Philadelphia Flyers – Ivan Provorov and Tony DeAngelo – are now in the rearview mirror after the latter’s buyout earlier in the week. Rasmus Ristolainen makes the most sense to take over DeAngelo’s role as the righty, and youngster Cam York figures to take over Provorov’s role as the lefty.
The Philadelphia Flyers’ power play finished dead-last in the NHL last season with a paltry 15.6 percent conversion rate. That will need to change in a big way if the team hopes to have any success that they can build off of in the long term. Cam York has a chance to be the best power play quarterback the Flyers have had since Kimmo Timonen.
CAM YORK (1) OH MY GOD pic.twitter.com/2MB7GQPGWR
— TLY (@TheLibertyYell) December 14, 2022
Cam York is about the same height as Timonen at 5’11”, but weighs a little bit less. With the appropriate work in the gym as a full-time guy, York should easily fill out his frame over the next few months. The added size and strength will greatly benefit York in the defensive zone; the offensive zone is already taken care of.
Cam York bet on himself earlier last week when he signed a two-year, $3.2 million contract to remain with the Philadelphia Flyers. Although York has yet to establish himself as an every day NHLer, he will have every chance to do so in 2023. His underlying numbers have been incredible in his modest sample size, and is counting on his play to earn him more money than an early, long-term extension would have netted him.
2019 NHL Draft classmates like Jack Hughes, Cole Caufield, and Matt Boldy, have all signed long-term extensions at team-friendly cap hits. It’s unclear whether that was even an option for York, but now that’s all irrelevant.
Now, the ball is in York’s court. It will be up to him to earn the trust of the Philadelphia Flyers brass and cement himself as the team’s number one defenseman who can be counted on in all situations. When his current contract expires, York will be an RFA again – hopefully looking to sign the biggest contract of his life.