Braydon Coburn is the face of the future in Philly. Coburn signed a four-year extension with the Flyers worth $18 million, good for a cap hit of $4.5 million per year over the course of the deal.
Coburn has been a steady second-pair guy for the Flyers and when you’re playing behind Chris Pronger as a defensive defenseman, life is made a little easier. At 26 years-old Coburn now becomes the solid rock they’ll look to build upon for the future. Not bad for a guy that the Flyers got from Atlanta for a washed up Alexei Zhitnik back in 2007, eh?
Coburn isn’t going to put goals on the board, but he is the guy that does his part in making sure the puck doesn’t end up in the Flyers net. Coburn started breaking out during the Flyers’ Stanley Cup finals run in 2010 and has grown to be one of their top defenders.
The price might seem a little high, but the Flyers are locked up with 20 contracts into next season according to CapGeek and are still well under the cap. If you have the space to spend, you might as well use it wisely and that’s what GM Paul Holmgren did here. Keeping Coburn away from free agency in the summer was key and now the Flyers hope to reap the benefits.