Voracek's $66M deal shouldn't shock you If $8.25 million per season sounds high for Jakub Voracek, it shouldn't. His sample size for success isn't small. As TSN senior hockey reporter Frank Seravalli writes, only two wingers have more points than Voracek since 2012-13.

Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Follow|Archive

Jake Voracek was on the golf course when he heard the news.

"It kind of (bleeped) up my game I was so excited," Voracek said. "I missed a couple putts after that."

Knowing Voracek, he was probably a little embarrassed, too. And not because the left-handed golfer has yet to break 90 on the links this summer.

Voracek stalked the NHL scoring race - and led it for six consecutive weeks at one point - last season before falling six points short of Jamie Benn on the final day.

The entire time, Voracek admitted even he was unsure if he stacked up against the NHL's elite forwards, the guys who scored consistently year and after year. That was even after he tied Mario Lemieux's record for most points (6) in an All-Star Game, a mark that stood since 1988.

"It's been one year," Voracek said on April 16. "If I do it next year, maybe I can prove that I've belonged there. I had one good season."

The Flyers weren't willing to wait and watch Voracek do it again. It would've only cost more.

Voracek and the Flyers agreed to an eight-year, $66 million extension on Thursday, the maximum term offered for players re-signing with their current team. His deal kicks in for the 2016-17 season and tentatively places him in the Top 10 league-wide in salary cap hits with an average annual value of $8.25 million per season.

Other players, like Steven Stamkos and Mark Giordano, are expected to sign long-term contracts before next season starts, and would likely bump Voracek out of the Top 10.

The signing capped an expensive week for the Flyers, with Hextall committing nearly $100 million to Voracek and Sean Couturier, who signed a 6-year, $26 million deal on Tuesday. The Flyers now have $61 million committed to 15 players for 2016-17, but could create future salary cap flexibility with relatively inexpensive buyouts for maligned forward Vinny Lecavalier and R.J. Umberger next summer.

Voracek, 26, will earn $200,000 fewer than linemate Claude Giroux, who signed his 8-year, $66.2 million deal on July 4, 2013. He was due to become an unrestricted free agent next July.

"The Jake Voracek's of the world are few and far between," Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said in a conference call. "And we certainly weren't willing to risk losing him."

Hextall said he and agent Petr Svoboda, a former Flyers teammate, reached the point over the last few days in negotiating that they were "tapped out." When both sides are unhappy with the deal, Hextall said, he knew it was time to get the deal wrapped up.

Voracek vastly outperformed the 4-year, $17 million deal he signed after arriving in Philadelphia from Columbus in 2011 in a trade with Couturier (the No. 8 pick) for Jeff Carter. He nearly doubled his salary cap hit of $4.25 million.

If $8.25 million sounds high for Voracek, it shouldn't. His sample size for success isn't small.

Since 2012-13, only two wingers have more points than Voracek and they are Alex Ovechkin and Phil Kessel. Voracek has the most assists of any winger over the last three seasons.

According to NHL.com's Pete Jensen, Voracek was one of five players with 40 or more even-strength points and 30 or more power play points last season. The others? Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Nick Backstrom and John Tavares.

His number is market value - a price any team would've paid to keep a young, durable star. Kessel signed an 8-year, $64 million deal in 2013. Perry is in the same neighbourhood at 8-years, $69 million.

Voracek's former teammate and fellow Svoboda client Jaromir Jagr, who turns 44 next season, will earn $5 million if he appears in 45 games for the Panthers.

The interesting part is Voracek is really only scratching the surface of his potential. He is one of the rare players to rocket to the top of league scoring after playing 500 NHL games, reaching a new level of maturity. The Flyers are paying him to stay there, perhaps the paycheck finally proving he belongs.

He missed a few putts, but called Thursday "one of the greatest moments of my life."

"It's a fair deal for us and a fair deal for Jake," Hextall said. "We certainly didn't expect to get him at a low number."

Frank Seravalli can be reached at frank.seravalli@bellmedia.ca.