Flyers sign Jake Voracek for 8 years, $66 million

The Flyers locked up Jake Voracek for the long term Thursday, signing the forward to a reported eight-year, $66 million contract extension.

Voracek was golfing when he heard the news and joked that it messed up his game. But missed putts aside, the 25-year-old is excited about the extension.

"I knew something was going to get done," Voracek said on a conference call Thursday. ". . . It's good that it came this early, so now we can focus on everything else."

Voracek, who led the Flyers with a career-high 81 points last season, still has one year left on his four-year, $17 million contract. His new deal will be in effect for the 2016-17 season and last until 2023-24.

Last season marked a significant upswing in Voracek's seven-year career, the first three of which were spent with the Columbus Blue Jackets before the Flyers traded for him in 2011. His 81 points (including 22 goals) tied for fourth-best in the NHL, and his 59 assists ranked second in the league. The performance earned him the Bobby Clarke Trophy, which is given to the Flyers' most valuable player.

Along with points, Voracek set career highs in assists, power-play goals with 11, and power-play points with 33.

The deal comes two days after the Flyers signed 22-year-old forward Sean Couturier to a reported six-year extension worth $26 million. The Flyers also have 27-year-old center Claude Giroux signed through 2022, meaning general manager Ron Hextall has presumably secured his offensive nucleus for the next seven seasons.

"The Jake Voraceks of the world are few and far between," Hextall said. "He's certainly not a player that we were willing to take the risk of losing."