Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler thrilled to call Philly ‘home’ with new contract extension

Nick Seeler is sticking around.

Amid trade rumblings ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline, the Flyers and the defenseman agreed to a four-year, $10.8 million extension with an annual average value of $2.7 million on Wednesday.

“I just knew I wanted to come in and continue to try to prove myself and to get that commitment, and a one-way contract, just a special moment for me. It means everything,” Seeler said. “It’s something you work toward, as an athlete, to find a home that you feel comfortable. Especially in this business, where there’s a lot of unknowns and a lot of uncertainty in our everyday lives.

“To have a place that you feel respected and a place that you love coming to the rink every day. it’s unique, and it’s special. Very, very grateful for this opportunity. I can’t wait to see where this group goes.”

The deal, unfortunately though, came on the same day the shot-blocking ace finally proved to be human, as he was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Seeler sustained the injury in the second period of Monday night’s game against St. Louis after taking a Colton Parayko shot off the outside of his left ankle. He returned for a few shifts in the third but did not play the final 9 minutes, 22 seconds of the final period or overtime.

“When I want to get back is as soon as I can. It’s week to week right now. I took a shot in a tough spot so hoping to get back as soon as I can, obviously,” Seeler said. “Hate being out, hate being at the Skate Zone with nobody here. Rather be on the road with the boys. But yeah, we’ll see. They said week to week right and do everything they ask and hopefully heal up pretty soon here.”

» READ MORE: Flyers trade defenseman Sean Walker to Colorado Avalanche

Losing Seeler, along with his defensive partner Sean Walker, who was traded on Wednesday to the Colorado Avalanche, stings — much like blocking a shot. But while Seeler will be out in the short term, the blueliner has earned himself the new contract and a hefty pay raise. He’s done it with stellar play along the blue line and a gritty, blue-collar approach — that “Flyer identity” as captain Sean Couturier called it — that has seen him become one of the NHL’s top shot eaters. Seeler, who turns 31 in June, ranks No. 1 in the league with 184 blocks. He also leads all Flyers defensemen in hits (112) and penalty minutes (78), and alongside Travis Konecny, is a team-best plus-15.

”He has hockey sense, but that is 99% [expletive], and willingness,” said coach John Tortorella recently about Seeler’s shot-blocking prowess.

”That’s what he does. It’s the little things. I watch him on tape, and I don’t appreciate it enough when it’s going on in the game because there’s so many other things but when I watch tape and see the positions he puts himself in for the team it’s just fantastic.”

The bench boss has also called Seeler “a nut job.” He puts his body on the line night in and night out and has earned the respect and appreciation of his teammates. The Flyers clearly valued Seeler’s fit in terms of culture and leadership with this contract.

“He’ll literally give every limb for the team,” center Morgan Frost recently told The Inquirer. “I think that’s been pretty obvious with the way he plays. He just brings a different intensity and a will to win. It’s hard to find, I think. He’s been a great pro and he’s willing to do whatever it takes every single night, every single shift, every single second. He means so much to this team and I think he’s a big part of the reason why we are at where we are at.”

The Flyers are in third place in the Metropolitan Division and a large part of it is due to Seeler, who is a team-first guy through and through. After scoring his first goal of the season, and his first in 69 games, at the Stadium Series, the first words out of his mouth when asked about his tally, were about how the loss stung.

“We may be young but we certainly have the makings of being a really, really good hockey team, where a lot of people counted us out this year,” Seeler said. “It’s fun to be a part of something that’s coming along really, really well in a season where people didn’t think we were going to do this well. Certainly excited for what’s to come here in the next four years.”

Alongside Walker, Seeler formed one of the league’s most effective defensive pairings in terms of analytics. The pair ranked in the top 10 in the league in Fenwick For Percentage — the percentage share of the total unblocked shot attempts when they are on the ice — at 57.26% and Expected Goals For Percentage (56.45%) among pairs that played 400 or more minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick. That pair is no more with Walker swapped for a first-round pick and Ryan Johansen’s contract.

Those puck possession numbers are a big reason why Seeler, who has a goal and 11 assists this season, earned himself a raise — and a one-way contract with a no-trade clause for the first two years along with a $1.5 million signing bonus the first year and a $1 million signing bonus the second.

A much-deserved contract for a guy who was playing on a two-way this season for the league minimum ($775,000) and who has made just over $3.4 million across his career, per Cap Friendly. But the fact he’s earning any NHL money is something to appreciate, as Seeler walked away from the game entirely in 2021.

» READ MORE: Nick Seeler almost quit hockey for good in 2021. Now, he’s one of the NHL’s most underrated defensemen.

After Seeler and the Chicago Blackhawks mutually agreed to part ways, the defenseman went home and shadowed his father, Dan, at his paint distribution and manufacturing company. The defenseman needed time to clear his head and while he continued to work out, he stayed off the ice. But his fire to play returned and then-Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher, who knew Seeler from their days in Minnesota and had selected him in the fifth round in 2011, gave him an opportunity. Seeler has made the absolute most of it.

”I have just so much respect for how he’s gone about it,” Tortorella said recently. “He leaves the league and comes back and that’s will. And to come back into the top league and still find your way, that’s a mental toughness, a mental will, and that’s what he’s about.”

“When I first came here, no one mentioned a word to me about Nick. I didn’t know who the [heck] he was. No one had him on that depth chart,” Tortorella said. “He was gonna be a guy where we said he’ll fight and he’s a hard-nosed guy. He wasn’t penciled in by any means, and I think, it’s been our best pair” with Walker.

Seeler called his dad and mom first to tell them about the new deal, and “they were over the moon excited.” For Seeler, he’s found a place where he wants to plant roots.

“This past day or so, just kind of thinking about where I was 3 years ago and not sure if I wanted to continue playing and here we are today,” Seeler said. “It’s an amazing feeling. I couldn’t be happier to be staying in Philadelphia. This is my third year here and right when I got here, it just felt like home.”