The Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday signed forward Garnet Hathaway to a two-year, $4.75 million contract, new general manager Daniel Briere announced. The deal will carry a $2.375 million average annual value.
A 31-year-old native of Kennebunkport, Maine, Hathaway found himself back in New England last season after a trade from the Washington Capitals to the first-place Boston Bruins.
He was used in a few different line combinations by Boston coach Jim Montgomery, and though he produced moderately, the Bruins' depth truly prevented him from accruing major minutes. He settled for an average time on the ice of just 11:04 for the Presidents' Trophy winners, after topping 12 minutes the past three seasons in Washington. Still, he finished with 13 goals and 22 points, across both teams, and skated in the postseason for the fifth time in as many years.
When the Bruins' run ended with an opening-round loss to the Florida Panthers, so, too, did Hathaway's four-year contract that carried an average annual value of just $1.5 million. But his 6-foot-3, 208-pound frame, which can be an imposing weapon around the net, and his team-friendly rates in recent years, figured to keep his phone busy when the signing period began. Ultimately, he ended up with a raise in Philadelphia.
Briere has largely been dealing away assets since he took over, as the Flyers reshape their roster. On Thursday, Philadelphia shipped center Kevin Hayes to St. Louis Blues for a 2024 sixth-round pick.
On Wednesday, Briere selected 18-year-old Russian right wing Matvei Michkov with the seventh overall pick in the NHL draft.