Six more years (of falling)! Hartnell inks extension

First Voracek, then Simmonds, now Bird Dog.

Earlier today, the Flyers signed Scott Hartnell to a six-year, $28.5 million dollar extension keeping him in the city of brotherly love until the 2018-'19 season, making him 36 when the entire deal is over. As it stands now, Hartnell has one more year on the deal he signed when he came over from the Predators with a cap hit of $4.2 per year, but this new contract gives him a slight salary bump up to $4.75 million. When asked about staying in Philadelphia, Hartnell said he was "very happy to continue his career playing in front of the best fans in the NHL."

While keeping Hartnell was definitely the right decision with all the young players on the roster, it does however raise some questions like, with all of these new deals, when does the team's most important player (Giroux) get his? And guys like Schenn, Couturier and Read will ultimately get new deals as well. Will there be money for them when the time comes? Obviously, the big question is if there will be a season at all. But with the youngsters still on entry-level deals (Shenner & Coots as RFA's) and G with two more years on his current contract, there's plenty of time to sort everything out.