The NHL has announced that 22 players have filed for salary arbitration with hearings being held between the 20th of July to the 4th of August, which includes Philadelphia Flyers centre Noah Cates.
The 24-year-old centre played the full 82-game campaign during the 2022-23 season and instantly became one of John Tortorella’s favourite players. He used him all over the lineup, played him on the power play, was a key penalty killer, and became a top-6 centre with Kevin Hayes losing out in a battle of wits with his head coach.
Cates finished the season with 13 goals and 38 points in 82 games after signing his ELC late in the 2021-22 season. He scored 5 goals and 9 points in 16 games to end the 2021-22 campaign after finishing his fourth and final year with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he chipped in with 11 goals and 24 points in 37 games. Over the four years at UMD he scored 39 goals and 99 points in 129 games.
Cates was the lone Flyer to file for arbitration with Egor Zamula having signed his contract early in the offseason, Ronnie Attard agreeing to his deal earlier today, and Morgan Frost, Olle Lycksell -also eligible for arbitration, and Cam York still needing new contracts.
Cates started his season relatively slowly in terms of his offense as he potted 5 goals and 17 points in his first 46 games, while averaging 17:35 TOI along the way. He ended the year with 8 goals and 21 points in 36 games while averaging 18:00 TOI and playing with forwards like Joel Farabee and Travis Konecny.
Cates had a very successful rookie season and even received a top-5 Calder Trophy vote as rookie of the year, and carved a nice niche as a dependable two-way forward with Selke Trophy votes somewhere down the line – in the not-so-distant future. He played 1153.5 minutes qt even-strength, 150 minutes on the power play, and 152.6 minutes while shorthanded. He scored 3 power play goals and 1 shorthanded goal, while dishing out 5 power play assists and 1 while shorthanded.
Cates also finished 8th on the team in ATOI and 3rd as a forward behind only Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton, and he also led the team with a ridiculous ratio of 60 takeaways to 13 giveaways, which was 16 more takeaways than 2nd place in Owen Tippett.
He is a focal point within the top-9 of the offense and he should get a relative boost in his new contract for his efforts this past year.
2024 Stadium Series Trip
Flyers Nation and Philly Sports Trips have teamed up to bring you on an amazing bus trip to the 2024 NHL Stadium Series between the Flyers and Devils. Place an early deposit to reserve your spot at the ultimate tailgate experience at MetLife Stadium before the game. The package includes a game ticket, round-trip charter bus, an all-inclusive tailgate party with unlimited cold beverages, “Philly Style” catered food, live entertainment, and more.
