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Nicolas Deslauriers signed a four-year, $7 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. It has an average annual value of $1.75 million.
The 31-year-old forward had 13 points (eight goals, five assists) and 113 penalty minutes in 81 regular-season games for the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild last season, including three goals in 20 games after he was acquired in a trade with the Ducks on March 19.
"Obviously it was a big day yesterday, a lot of phone calls, but I had a decent chat with [general manager] Chuck [Fletcher] and 'Torts' [coach John Tortorella]," Deslauriers said Thursday. " … Every time I played there it was kind of that rough and tough game and just the structure of how not just the team but how the city is as well. It's a blue-collar city. It was not an easy decision, but at the same time it made it easier after talking to Chuck and Torts and I'm excited, that's for sure."
Fletcher said Deslauriers adds to the goal of making the Flyers harder to play against.
"There was a pretty aggressive market for him," Fletcher said. "Players like Nic Deslauriers are hard to find. He's a guy that we like. We think he moves well, he forechecks well. He's a player that has a pretty good understanding of the defensive side of the game. He can kill penalties, which we believe he'll be able to do for us. And he obviously is an imposing physical presence, one of the tougher players in the league. With the number of young players that we expect to be on our roster next year and in a division where there's a lot of big, physical players, we thought Nic Deslauriers would help our group and bring an element that we feel we need to allow the rest of our group to play to their capabilities."
Selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the third round (No. 84) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Deslauriers has 85 points (44 goals, 41 assists) and 521 penalty minutes in 506 regular-season games for the Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Ducks and Wild and no points in five Stanley Cup Playoff games.
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"Talking to Chuck and knowing last year is not what the organization wanted and that they wanted to take a step forward, I'm happy to bring what I do best," Deslauriers said. "At the same time I have been in the League long enough to know a little more of my role of how it is. I have been in Buffalo, that was a reconstruction as well and then went to Anaheim and I had a chance to be in the playoffs last year with Minnesota. It's a step in the right direction."
The Flyers also signed defenseman Justin Braun to a one-year, $1.75 million contract. The 35-year-old had two points (one goal, one assist) in eight regular-season games, and one assist in 19 playoff games for the New York Rangers after he was traded by Philadelphia for a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft on March 21. He had 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 61 games for the Flyers prior to the trade.
Selected by the San Jose Sharks in the seventh round (No. 201) of the 2007 NHL Draft, Braun has 197 points (34 goals, 163 assists) in 791 regular-season games for the Sharks, Flyers and Rangers, and 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in 119 playoff games.
"Justin Braun is a guy that we know that was able to come in on an affordable contract and provide depth and help our penalty kill," Fletcher said.
NHL.com staff writer Remy Mastey contributed to this report
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