Latest news with #PhiladelphiaFlyers
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Robert Hägg Returns To Sweden
Swedish defenseman Robert Hägg, 30, has signed a one-year contract with Brynäs IF, the Gävle-based SHL club announced on Wednesday. Hägg is returning to Sweden after spending the past 11 seasons in North America, split between the NHL and AHL in six different organizations. 'It feels really good to come to Brynäs,' said Hägg. 'I have been in the USA for many years and felt that it was a good time to return home to Sweden. I have had very good conversations with Johan Alcén and the club has clear visions that match mine. In the end, it was an easy decision when we got to that stage. I look forward to getting to work.' Advertisement 'Robert is a big, solid player who has accumulated a lot of experience and we will benefit greatly from that,' said Alcén, the club's sports director. 'We like his whole aura when he is out on the ice where he does not hesitate to step into the melée. He is a humble and respectful person who really makes his surroundings better and wants to win. He will fit in perfectly with the group.' Born in Uppsala, Sweden, Hägg developed in the MoDo system and he was rumored to be heading to that club a few months ago; however, MoDo's relegation to the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan was probably a factor in him deciding to play elsewhere. Hägg was chosen in the second round, 41st overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Between 2016 and 2025, he played 345 NHL regular-season games for the Flyers, Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights, recording 63 points and 208 penalty minutes. He added three assists in 14 playoff games, all with Philadelphia. Robert Hägg to Anaheim: 'Why did you even sign me at all?' Robert Hägg to Anaheim: 'Why did you even sign me at all?' Last month, while he was still considering his options for the 2024-25 season, Advertisement Robert Hägg gave an interview with a Swedish reporter for where he expressed some of his disappointment with how things worked out in Anaheim. After being a regular NHLer for six seasons, Hägg only played seven games in the league over the past two seasons. He considered returning to Sweden last summer after a particularly sour experience in Anaheim, which he shared with Swedish media, but decided to give it one more shot with Vegas. Hägg joins a Brynäs team that is coming off a season in which it shattered all expectations. Just after being promoted from the HockeyAllsvenskan, Brynäs finished first overall in the regular season and made it to the SHL finals, where it lost to Lulea in six games. In addition to Hägg, the club's roster includes ex-NHLers Jakob Silfverberg, Johan Larsson, Oskar Lindblom, Christian Djoos, Axel Jonsson-Fjällby, Mattias Norlinder and goaltender Erik Källgren. Last year's team included defensemen Charles-Édouard D'Astous and Victor Söderström – however, D'Astous has signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning and, although Söderström is under contract for another season with Brynäs, it is expected that he might sign with the Chicago Blackhawks – who acquired his NHL rights in the spring. Advertisement Photo © Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Victor Soderstrom Wins Borje Salming Trophy As SHL's Top Defenseman Victor Soderstrom Wins Borje Salming Trophy As SHL's Top Defenseman Victor Söderström has been named the top defenseman in the Swedish Hockey League for the 2024-25 season. As a result, he has been awarded the Börje Salming Trophy.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Flyers F Tyson Foerster signs 2-year extension
May 30 - Philadelphia Flyers forward Tyson Foerster signed a two-year contract extension worth $7.5 million. The deal was announced on Thursday by the Flyers. Foerster, 23, will be a restricted free agent again when the contract extension expires in 2027. He set career highs across the board with 43 points (25 goals, 18 assists) in 81 games last season, his second full campaign with Philadelphia. "There's a few guys that I think there's a whole other level to their game that hopefully we can unlock. For sure, (Foerster) is one of them. I'm really looking forward to working with him," new Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. Foerster has 83 points (48 goals, 35 assists) in 164 career games since being selected by Philadelphia with the 23rd overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 9, 2023. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Flyers Offseason: Grading the Tyson Foerster Contract Extension
Flyers winger Tyson Foerster exploded for six goals in his final five games of the season, crossing the 20-goal threshold for the second time. (Photo: Eric Bolte, Imagn Images) The Philadelphia Flyers signed budding winger Tyson Foerster to a highly anticipated contract extension Thursday afternoon, but the details tell the bigger story. The contract is a temporary solution to a complex situation, but there are benefits, too. Advertisement Foerster, 23, put pen to paper on a two-year, $7.5 million extension ($3.75 million AAV), signing a much shorter contract than what most were expecting. For reference, hockey analytics mavens Evolving-Hockey gave Foerster a 27% chance of signing an eight-year extension, with a predicted annual cap hit of $6.94 million in that instance. A two-year deal for Foerster had the second-highest odds, according to Evolving-Hockey's model, at 23%. They predicted Foerster to pull in a $4.161 million cap hit in this scenario, so the Flyers, by most accounts, got a great deal on their former-first round pick's bridge contract. One underrated aspect of Foerster's new Flyers contract is the fact that he will still be under team control on its expiry; Foerster will still be a restricted free agent in 2027 at 25 years old. Advertisement By getting him on a short-term bridge deal, the Flyers save themselves some cap space for the potential to make a bigger move in the next two seasons and don't lose any leverage when the time comes to negotiate another contract. Tyson Foerster's 2024-25 player card, courtesy of Evolving-Hockey. And that time could be as soon as July 1, 2026, when Foerster will become eligible to sign a contract extension with the Flyers. It's not dissimilar to what Cam York just went through with the Flyers as a pending RFA himself. Additionally, Foerster's new deal does not come with any form of trade protection, meaning that, now through the end of the contract, the Flyers control the 23-year-old's fate. Advertisement This could become especially prudent if a season passes and the two sides are unable to come to an agreement on a longer-term contract, or if Foerster struggles massively and is no longer deemed a fit for the future of the Flyers. The 6-foot-2 winger's UFA year, according to PuckPedia, is 2029, so the Flyers could have pushed for more team control, but 2027 will have to suffice. It's an amicable solution for two sides who clearly wanted to get a deal done, and so Foerster will remain with the Flyers. Grade: B+ This piece of business by the Flyers was as close to perfect as can be. Personally, a longer-term deal would have been preferable, especially considering that having some extra years of team control was, apparently, a factor of some kind. Advertisement With Foerster's contract becoming official, the Flyers now have a shade under $23 million to operate with, needing only to re-sign York, Noah Cates, Jakob Pelletier, and fringe players like Olle Lycksell and Helge Grans. Last year, the contracts given out to Travis Konecny, Ivan Fedotov, and Owen Tippett raised some eyebrows, but the Foerster contract is a clear win for a Flyers organization that desperately needs one.
Toronto Star
3 days ago
- Sport
- Toronto Star
‘I'm 19 years old and there's a naked girl in the room': Accused player Carter Hart testifies at Hockey Canada sex assault trial
If something 'disrespectful or degrading' happened while he was in a London, Ont., hotel room with a woman demanding to have sex with his teammates, Carter Hart says he would have stopped it or left. 'I can't see why I would have stayed in that room,' he testified Thursday, becoming the first accused player at the high-profile Hockey Canada sexual assault trial to take the stand in his own defence after the prosecution closed its case on Thursday. Canada The prosecution has closed. Here's how to understand the Crown's case in the Hockey Canada sex assault trial The Crown completed its evidence at the Hockey Canada sex assault trial on Thursday morning. Here's what you need to know to catch up, starting Canada The prosecution has closed. Here's how to understand the Crown's case in the Hockey Canada sex assault trial The Crown completed its evidence at the Hockey Canada sex assault trial on Thursday morning. Here's what you need to know to catch up, starting Hart, Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote, all former members of the 2018 Canadian world junior championship team, have pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the then-20-year-old woman in a room at the Delta Armouries hotel in the early hours of June 19, 2018. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to being a party to a sexual assault for allegedly encouraging his teammates to engage in sexual activity with the woman when he knew she wasn't consenting. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The complainant, whose identity is covered by a standard publication ban, had met McLeod at Jack's Bar and went back to his hotel where they had consensual sex, only for multiple members of the team to come in afterward, prompted by texts from McLeod. Testifying over nine days, the woman alleged the men placed a bedsheet on the floor and asked her to fondle herself, to perform oral sex on them while she was slapped and spat on, and to engage in vaginal intercourse. While she never said no nor physically resisted, the woman said she adopted the 'persona' of a 'porn star' and engaged in the sexual activity as a coping mechanism while being in a room surrounded by men she didn't know. Hart, who played as a goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers prior to his arrest, confirmed Thursday at the judge-alone trial under cross-examination by Formenton's lawyer, Hilary Dudding, that he never saw anyone spit on the complainant, nor mock or bully her, as she has testified. If he had: 'I would have said 'don't do that' or 'stop' or I would have just left.' Players Alex Formenton and Carter Hart arrive back at the Delta Armouries hotel early on June 19, 2018, with teammate Rob Thomas. Ontario Superior Court exhibit What he did see when he entered McLeod's room after a night of drinking was a naked woman masturbating on a bedsheet on the floor, asking the players around her: 'Can somebody come f—- me?' How were you feeling about that, Hart's lawyer, Megan Savard, asked him at the start of his testimony. 'Pretty excited,' said Hart, dressed in a burgundy suit and blue tie. 'I'm 19 years old and there's a naked girl in the room that was doing these things willingly. It was something I'd never seen before.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW He said he believed most of the men didn't want to have sex with the woman because they had girlfriends. Hart himself wasn't open to having intercourse, so testified that he asked instead: 'Can I get a blowie?' 'Meaning blowjob,' he clarified in his testimony. He said he recalled the woman saying something like 'yeah' or 'sure' as he walked toward her on the bedsheet, while she got up on her knees and moved toward him, grabbing his penis over the top of his pants and helping him to pull them down. The oral sex lasted about 30 seconds to a minute, as Hart said he couldn't get erect and was starting to feel uncomfortable. 'It was just a weird thing,' he said. 'There were other guys in the room looking and I do remember making eye contact with somebody. It was just, like, weird.' Hart maintained that his sexual contact with the complainant was consensual, and that he was in the room for about an hour. Just prior to the start of Hart's testimony on Thursday, the prosecution closed its case, one that primarily relies on the testimony of the complainant. Given that she couldn't identify most of the men who engaged with her, including Hart, the Crown also relied on the testimony of other players in the room who were not accused of any wrongdoing, to put names to alleged actions. But those witnesses also ended up posing challenges for the Crown, such as player Brett Howden, who agreed with a defence suggestion that what he saw in the room was '100 per cent consensual.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW A composite image of London police Det. Steve Newton's handwritten notes on the complainant's comments during a June 26, 2018, photo-identification interview. Ontario Superior Court Exhibit The world juniors were in London at the time to attend the Hockey Canada Foundation's annual Gala & Golf fundraising event and to receive their rings for winning the championship earlier that year. Hart's visit to McLeod's room was prompted by a text McLeod sent to a players' group chat just after 2 a.m. on June 19: 'Who wants to be in 3 way quick.' Hart replied within minutes: 'I'm in.' He testified Thursday he also spoke to McLeod on the phone. 'I do remember the gist of the conversation was Mike was with a girl back at the hotel that wanted to have sex with some of the boys,' Hart testified. 'Boys meaning some of my teammates.' McLeod himself will not be testifying at the trial, his lawyer David Humphrey confirmed in court Thursday, especially given the fact that the Crown already entered as evidence his video statement to police in 2018. In that interview, McLeod maintains that his sexual contact with the complainant was consensual and that she was demanding to have sex with players, and becoming upset when they wouldn't take her up on her offer. But McLeod also omits that he texted his teammates to come to his room for sexual activity. It remains to be seen whether Formenton, Dubé, and Foote will testify. They are not required to, as the burden of proving a criminal charge always remains with the Crown. Aside from the oral sex allegation against Hart, the Crown has also alleged that McLeod had intercourse with the woman a second time in the bathroom; Formenton separately had intercourse with her in the bathroom; McLeod and Dubé obtained oral sex; Dubé slapped her naked buttocks, and Foote did the splits over her body and his genitals 'grazed' her face. Hart testified he didn't witness most of what the Crown is alleging; he confirmed he didn't see anyone slap the complainant. He also recalled the woman and Formenton holding hands as they made their way to the bathroom. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'She was the one, not dragging him, but leading him into the bathroom,' he said. And he recalled Foote doing the splits over the woman's body while she was lying on the sheet on the floor between the two beds, but said Foote was clothed and that he didn't touch her body. Hart explained that the splits were a 'pretty cool thing' that Foote was able to do upon request; surveillance footage shows he did the splits on the dancefloor at Jack's earlier that night. Men in the hotel room were egging him on to do it again, Hart said. 'Like hey Footer, do the splits,' Hart said. 'That was just kind of a thing he did. He's a big, tall dude, super flexible.' He said everyone was laughing after Foote did the splits over the complainant — 'and I looked and I saw (the complainant) was laughing as well.' Cal Foote does the splits at Jack's Bar in London on the night of June 18-19, 2018, while teammates Brett Howden (on the far side of Foote, in white with a lighter-coloured backwards ball cap) and Dillon Dubé (in white on the near side of Foote) clear space on the dance floor. Ontario Superior Court exhibit Days later, on June 26, 2018, fear and panic set in among the team after they learned that Hockey Canada was looking into reports of an alleged sexual assault in the hotel room. They furiously texted each other back and forth in a group chat entered as evidence at the trial, with McLeod emphasizing that they should tell the truth and not make anything up. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'Honestly boys nobody did anything wrong,' Hart chimed in from Philadelphia, where he was at hockey development camp. 'Like we got consent to anything that she did, she was the one begging guys to bang her.' Savard asked her client for his understanding of the purpose of the text thread. 'I thought everybody was just telling the truth,' he said. 'Like there's nothing to hide, that we're just agreeing to tell the truth.' Messages from Carter Hart, in blue, from the player's group chat on June 26, 2018. Ontario Superior Court exhibit London police initially declined to lay charges in 2019 after the lead investigator wondered whether the complainant had been an 'active participant' in the room; Hockey Canada also shut down its probe after the complainant refused to participate. Both the organization and the police force reopened their investigations in 2022 amid intense public pressure after Hockey Canada settled, for an undisclosed sum, a $3.5-million sexual assault lawsuit filed by the complainant against the organization and eight unnamed John Doe players. The five men on trial were charged in 2024. Hockey Canada didn't tell the players of their intention to settle, nor that a claim had even been filed. Hart was playing tennis with his best friend when he found out. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Canada Why didn't police lay charges in 2019? Inside the London police investigations in the Hockey Canada sex assault case London police documents make clear the high-profile sex assault investigation was reopened in 2022 due to 'a resurgence in media attention' — with Canada Why didn't police lay charges in 2019? Inside the London police investigations in the Hockey Canada sex assault case London police documents make clear the high-profile sex assault investigation was reopened in 2022 due to 'a resurgence in media attention' — with 'I'll never forget the day,' he testified. 'I received a phone call from my agent telling me that Hockey Canada had settled on behalf of us without our knowledge or consent to the complainant, and that Hockey Canada was going to be reopening their investigation, and the police.' And so Hockey Canada never told you about this lawsuit, Savard pressed her client. 'No, I had been asked to even play for Team Canada that year,' Hart said. 'I had no idea.' Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham will begin cross-examining Hart on Friday morning.
CBS News
3 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Philadelphia Flyers re-sign Tyson Foerster to a 2-year, $7.5 million contract
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Tyson Foerster to a two-year contract worth $7.5 million. General manager Daniel Briere announced the extension Thursday. Foerster will count $3.75 million annually against the salary cap in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 NHL seasons. Foerster, 23, set career highs with 25 goals, 18 assists and 43 points this past season. He was set to be a restricted free agent July 1 and will be again after this deal expires. The Flyers' first-round pick in the 2020 draft at No. 23 overall, Foerster has 83 points in 166 career games in the league, all with Philadelphia. This spring, he represented Canada at the world hockey championships.
