Travis Konecny inks eight-year extension to remain in Philadelphia

Travis Konecny is not going anywhere.

The Flyers’ MVP is calling Philadelphia his home for the long term after signing an eight-year extension with an 8.75M AAV. The contract features a no-move clause in the first six years and a limited no-trade clause in the final two years. And it wasn’t the team who broke the news originally.

Nothing like having your best friend on the team breaking the news on your extension.

I'll give the credit to the social media team, that was awesome,” Konecny said during his press conference. “He had been teasing me that he was going to do something along those lines the entire time. He's always the guy breaking trades to people on the team, new contracts in the league. It fit well that he was the one that did it for me.

Konecny to call Philadelphia home for a long time

Konecny has only gotten better as the years have gone by. He had his best season statistically last year, hitting over 30 goals for the second straight season. And he nearly hit the 70-point mark, coming just two points shy.

Six goals came shorthanded, an area Konecny has seen for the first time under John Tortorella. Guess he should’ve been on the unit a lot sooner. He also added nine power-play points, an area the Flyers need more help in.

There had been speculation on whether or not signing Konecny to an extension would be the right thing to do. Would the Flyers be a contending team while he is still in his prime? Would he be looking for a salary that was too rich for the Flyers to take? And was it something that Konecny was going to be interested in?

I just wanted to get this over with and make sure that there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be a Flyer for life. What we had been working toward and what I believe this team can be. This is where I wanted to be. It was pretty easy for me to make the decision that I was gonna stay here as long as possible.

Konecny talked with his wife, Karly, first on what they wanted to do. That decision came pretty quick and was a "no-brainer" for them based on where they are and the way they've been treated. The direction the organization is trending in also played a role in his decision. Despite the stress that came from getting the actual deal done, everything else came easy.

With the rising cap, the money won’t be an issue. And the Flyers may not be that far off. They were in playoff position for a large majority of the season before falling off at the end. With another year and basically the same team returning, it would not be a surprise to see them figure out what would make them successful to be able to make it over that hump, at least that’s what Konecny thinks.

I do believe our team's right there,” Konecny said. “We're gonna work just as hard as we did last year, we're gonna skate and continue to work on some of the young guys getting a little bit better. And some of the older guys adding some stuff to their game as well. I'm really excited to see where this team can go. I know every single guy in the locker room believes. And that's the most important thing is that you've gotta get everyone on the same page and I know we are. We're on the right path.