[AUTHOR’S NOTE: This was written for The Broad Street Bully, a blog and podcast my friend Drew and I started based off of our mutual interest in the Philadelphia Flyers. See it on http://broadstreetbully.net.]
This has been a good offseason for Jake so far. He may not have gotten a chance to hoist the Cup but he did finally get that long-term security that all NHL players are looking for. Former teammates, Ron Hextall and Petr Svoboda (Voracek’s current agent), sat down at the negotiating table this summer and hashed out an eight year, sixty six million dollar deal.
Now that the ink has dried, Flyers fans can feel good that the duo of Giroux and Voraceck will be piloting the first line for at least 2021, if both play out their current contracts.
But did Voracek deserve that money?
Let’s review.
For the purpose of this article, the stats used will be from the season of the 2012-2013 lockout forward.
Below are five left-wingers who play a prominent role in their team’s offensive production compared to Voracek’s numbers over the same time. These players were picked off the top of my head so if there are any omissions then my apologies.
Alex Ovechkin – 9,538,462/year until 2021
| SEASON | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG | S | S% |
| 2012-2013 | 48 | 32 | 24 | 56 | 2 | 36 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 220 | 14.6 |
| 2013-2014 | 78 | 51 | 28 | 79 | -35 | 48 | 24 | 0 | 10 | 386 | 13.2 |
| 2014-2015 | 81 | 53 | 28 | 81 | 10 | 58 | 25 | 0 | 11 | 395 | 13.4 |
| 207 | 136 | 80 | 216 | -23 | 142 | 65 | 0 | 25 | 1,001 |
Jakub Voracek – 8,250,000/year until 2022
| SEASON | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG | S | S% |
| 2012-2013 | 48 | 22 | 24 | 46 | -7 | 35 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 129 | 17.0 |
| 2013-2014 | 82 | 23 | 39 | 62 | 11 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 235 | 9.8 |
| 2014-2015 | 82 | 22 | 59 | 81 | 1 | 78 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 221 | 10.0 |
| 212 | 67 | 122 | 189 | 5 | 135 | 27 | 0 | 8 | 585 |
Placing Voracek against Ovechkin seems unfair since Ovechkin is the benchmark for all left-wingers in the NHL. However, since the 2012-2013 lockout was settled, Voracek’s numbers are similar enough. Ovechkin will, and should, certainly have more goals since he’s a pure scorer but Jake is able to make up lost ground by netting extra assists. And that leaves Voracek only 27 points away from being even with Ovechkin’s point total. And Voracek has a +5 to Ovechkin’s -23. Ovechkin has more power play goals, and game winning goals, but the offense goes through him and always has since he broke into the league. Factor in Jake’s age (four years younger than Ovechkin) and the numbers appear that they may eventually even out.
Phil Kessel – 6,800,000/year until 2021
| SEASON | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG | S | S% |
| 2012-2013 | 48 | 20 | 32 | 52 | -3 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 161 | 12.4 |
| 2013-2014 | 82 | 37 | 43 | 80 | -5 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 305 | 12.1 |
| 2014-2015 | 82 | 25 | 36 | 61 | -34 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 280 | 8.9 |
| 212 | 82 | 111 | 193 | -42 | 74 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 746 |
Jakub Voracek – 8,250,000/year until 2022
| SEASON | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG | S | S% |
| 2012-2013 | 48 | 22 | 24 | 46 | -7 | 35 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 129 | 17.0 |
| 2013-2014 | 82 | 23 | 39 | 62 | 11 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 235 | 9.8 |
| 2014-2015 | 82 | 22 | 59 | 81 | 1 | 78 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 221 | 10.0 |
| 212 | 67 | 122 | 189 | 5 | 135 | 27 | 0 | 8 | 585 |
Phil Kessel has been one of the most widely criticized players in the NHL for the past few seasons. He was the centerpiece of a Maple Leafs team that never fully lived up to their lofty expectations and now hopes to reinvent himself in Pittsburgh.
Since the lockout, Voracek has more goals and more points. Kessel takes the edge in assists, but just barely. It will be hard to judge how Kessel’s numbers will be affected by playing with Crosby, but he signed his contract extension when market value for wingers was less and the amount of money for the amount of years reflects that.
Jamie Benn – 5,250,000/year until 2018
| SEASON | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG | S | S% |
| 2012-2013 | 41 | 12 | 21 | 33 | -12 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 110 | 10.9 |
| 2013-2014 | 81 | 34 | 45 | 79 | 21 | 64 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 279 | 12.2 |
| 2014-2015 | 82 | 35 | 52 | 87 | 1 | 64 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 253 | 13.8 |
| 204 | 81 | 118 | 199 | 10 | 208 | 18 | 3 | 12 | 642 |
Jakub Voracek – 8,250,000/year until 2022
| SEASON | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG | S | S% |
| 2012-2013 | 48 | 22 | 24 | 46 | -7 | 35 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 129 | 17.0 |
| 2013-2014 | 82 | 23 | 39 | 62 | 11 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 235 | 9.8 |
| 2014-2015 | 82 | 22 | 59 | 81 | 1 | 78 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 221 | 10.0 |
| 212 | 67 | 122 | 189 | 5 | 135 | 27 | 0 | 8 | 585 |
Jamie Benn is relatively new to people’s radars if they are not avid NHL fans. Playing in Dallas may have something to do with this.
Benn has become a major player in the Stars lineup and his numbers are beginning to reflect that. Benn’s contract is up in 2018 and, if he keeps up this current play, then he can expect a large, current market value, payday. Voracek’s contract may become a tool for the Stars to figure out what they will have to pay to keep Benn in a Stars’ uniform.
Daniel Sedin – 7,000,000/year until 2018
| SEASON | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG | S | S% |
| 2012-2013 | 47 | 12 | 28 | 40 | 12 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 138 | 8.7 |
| 2013-2014 | 73 | 16 | 31 | 47 | 0 | 38 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 224 | 7.1 |
| 2014-2015 | 82 | 20 | 56 | 76 | 5 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 226 | 8.8 |
| 202 | 48 | 115 | 163 | 17 | 74 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 588 |
Jakub Voracek – 8,250,000/year until 2022
| SEASON | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG | S | S% |
| 2012-2013 | 48 | 22 | 24 | 46 | -7 | 35 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 129 | 17.0 |
| 2013-2014 | 82 | 23 | 39 | 62 | 11 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 235 | 9.8 |
| 2014-2015 | 82 | 22 | 59 | 81 | 1 | 78 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 221 | 10.0 |
| 212 | 67 | 122 | 189 | 5 | 135 | 27 | 0 | 8 | 585 |
The Sedin twins have been stalwarts in Vancouver since they broke into the league together. Outside of plus/minus, which is not the best stat to judge player quality with, Voracek tops Sedin in almost every category.
And Sedin signed for seven million a year in 2013. When his contract renewal hits in 2018, he may not make nearly as much as he previously did due to his age and the Canucks inability to consistently go deep into the playoffs.
Rick Nash – 7,800,000/year until 2018
| SEASON | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG | S | S% |
| 2012-2013 | 44 | 21 | 21 | 42 | 16 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 176 | 11.9 |
| 2013-2014 | 65 | 26 | 13 | 39 | 10 | 36 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 258 | 10.1 |
| 2014-2015 | 79 | 42 | 27 | 69 | 29 | 36 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 304 | 13.8 |
| 188 | 89 | 61 | 150 | 55 | 98 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 738 |
Jakub Voracek – 8,250,000/year until 2022
| SEASON | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG | S | S% |
| 2012-2013 | 48 | 22 | 24 | 46 | -7 | 35 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 129 | 17.0 |
| 2013-2014 | 82 | 23 | 39 | 62 | 11 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 235 | 9.8 |
| 2014-2015 | 82 | 22 | 59 | 81 | 1 | 78 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 221 | 10.0 |
| 212 | 67 | 122 | 189 | 5 | 135 | 27 | 0 | 8 | 585 |
Rangers winger Rick Nash makes close to eight million a year for providing more goals (and, by proxy, game winning goals) then Jake. And that’s about it. Nash tops plus/minus as well but that’s an unfair assessment since the Rangers defense includes McDonaugh, Girardi, and Staal. Put that against a Flyers defensive squad that has been simply abysmal since Pronger went down and Timonen’s age got the better of him.
Now, back to the original question: did Voracek deserve the money?
The answer is yes. And if the Flyers did not give him the extension then another team would have. Solid wingers are hard to come by, as the Flyers already know since they cannot seem to find a top-flight right-winger that brings a scoring touch.
People are complaining that a cap hit of 8,250,000/year is excessive but, unfortunately, that is current market value. And if Voracek keeps ramping up his production playing on Giroux’s wing, then Hextall will look brilliant by the end of 2022.
**Salary numbers from http://www.capfriendly.com and yearly stats from http://www.nhl.com
