When the Philadelphia Flyers signed Christian Dvorak to a one-year, $5.4-million AAV contract during the offseason, it seemed a little puzzling. GM Danny Briere had just traded for Trevor Zegras with the assumption he would play down the middle, and the cap hit on Dvorak's contract was something of an overpay for a player who'd been a career third-line center. What, exactly, was the purpose of bringing in Dvorak?
Early in the season, though, Briere's shrewd signing proved invaluable to the team. Through the end of 2025, Dvorak scored nine goals, added 16 assists, and totaled 25 points in 38 games, on pace to smash his previous career-high production of 38 points in 70 games with the now defunct Arizona Coyotes in 2019-20. Dvorak was also a strong fit inside the locker room and, in conjunction with is production, the Flyers figured he'd be worth a long-term commitment: they signed Dvorak to a five-year, $5.15-million AAV extension on January 6.
Since then, however, Dvorak's production has dropped off significantly and the team has gone into free fall. After inking his extension, Dvorak has scored three goals, tallied six assists, and a meager nine points in 18 games; he's in the midst of a five-game point drought and hasn't scored a goal since January 21, too. That's not the kind of production you want from a 30-year old forward you just signed for another five years.
There's still time for Dvorak to prove he's worth the extension--he's only three points back of his career high, after all--but much of his production has come on a line with Zegras, one of the Flyers' most dynamic offensive creators. They probably won't be paired together forever and, when they're split up, there's legitimate concern Dvorak's production will fall off without Zegras skating alongside him. That means that Dvorak's production this year may be his peak--a one-off season that the Flyers became smitten with.
Briere and the front office made a bet Dvorak could maintain his production, but it's not working out that way so far. Paying a half-point-per-game player over $5 million a year for the next five years is a tough pill to swallow--especially considering the kind of value Dvorak could've brought back at the trade deadline next week. The Dvorak extension just seems like a missed opportunity to bring in more future assets, instead of getting caught up in the team's success to start the season. Things could always turn around, but it is aging poorly for now.