Flyers sign Garnet Hathaway to a two-year extension

As everyone waits for a Travis Konecny contract extension, the Flyers took care of some other future business, signing Garnet Hathaway to an extension on Monday.

Hathaway signed for two more years with an average annual value of $2.4 million. The contract will begin in 2025-26. Hathaway has one year remaining on a deal he signed last summer at an AAV of $2.375 million. He would have been an unrestricted free agent following the upcoming season.

“Garnet has been a great addition to our team and we’re very happy to extend him to be a Flyer for the next several seasons,” said general manager Danny Brière in a news release. “His style of play and level of professionalism had a big effect on our group last season, and he embodies the standard our team set out to build both on and off the ice.”

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The 32-year-old, who grew up in Maine, had 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 82 games last season. He finished the season No. 2 in the NHL with 326 hits — first among all forwards — and was a key contributor on the Flyers’ penalty kill. The Flyers may have been shorthanded, but it was really a power kill and he had a goal and three points while shorthanded.

Hathaway started the 2023-24 season on the fourth line, nicknamed the “PHD line,” skating alongside center Ryan Poehling and winger Nic Deslauriers. As the season wore on, the gritty winger, who showcased a keen ability to forecheck and get under the opposition’s skin, moved up the lineup and became a reliable forward. A bit of a throwback to the Broad Street Bullies, Hathaway played a style that complemented anyone, including Tyson Foerster and Poehling, with whom he played a bit toward the end of the season.

“I think the whole city, the whole Flyers organization, the history of this team, and the Broad Street Bullies, and everything, I think it definitely draws comparisons to how I want to play my game,” Hathaway said after cleaning out his locker in April. “And I see that, and that work ethic that came before me and in the culture that we have, just motivates you to try and do more and try and bring more and be consistent every night. And that’s one thing that I’m going to keep trying to work on.”

Brière said on Monday the Flyers extended Hathaway a year early because he was willing to keep his salary-cap hit relatively close to his current deal. And although the forward will be 35 in the last year of his contract, the team doesn’t have any reservations about his age.

“His body of work and the way he trains in the summer makes us feel pretty confident that he’s going to be at that same level,” Brière said. “In three years from now, we’ll probably be talking about an extension for him.”

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In 539 career NHL games, Hathaway has 65 goals with 139 points and 622 penalty minutes. He also has suited up with the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, and Calgary Flames, whom the Flyers will face in the Albertan team’s home opener on Oct. 12. The Flyers’ home opener will be Oct. 19 against the Vancouver Canucks.

“I think Garney just brings that effort part of it to his game and I think he’s an easy guy to follow as far as the puck battles, the board work, the physical play, the willingness,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said about Hathaway in late December. “Everything about him is, I think you talk about the Flyers’ history, it’s kind of that, bringing that type of style to the league. I know the league’s changed but we, meaning us the Flyers in that room, feel there’s a part of the physical play that needs to be there for us. And he certainly is one of those guys that leads the way in that.”