The Philadelphia Flyers signed Jett Luchanko to his three-year, entry-level contract immediately after the development camp scrimmage at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, New Jersey, on Saturday night.
No, seriously. Luchanko was wearing the same shirt and hat in the photos of him signing as he was when he did his post-scrimmage media availability.
Luchanko, 17, became the first member of the Flyers’ 2024 draft class to sign his entry-level contract and joined fellow top prospects like Macklin Celebrini, Artem Levshunov, Beckett Sennecke, Zayne Parekh, and Berkly Catton as one of the first 2024 draftees to ink his first pro deal.
The main difference is that the Flyers aren’t expecting Luchanko to turn pro anytime soon. So why sign the contract and get business done now?
Because Luchanko will be 18 (and 19) years old on Sept. 15 in each of the next two seasons, his entry-level contract will be able to “slide”. In layman’s terms, it means the season basically doesn’t count against the contract, so long as Luchanko doesn’t appear in 10 or more NHL games.
Therefore, the time won’t start ticking on Luchanko’s first NHL contract until the 2026-27 season, when the teenager would likely begin putting in some time at the AHL level before making the jump to the big leagues.
Additionally, Luchanko will be able to receive the signing bonuses in his contract immediately versus later on, which will actually lower his cap hit each year the contract slides.
The Flyers did not necessarily need to get Luchanko signed now, but there’s little reason to wait if Danny Briere and Co. have ironed out a structure that works for Luchanko’s camp. This is certainly not to suggest that Luchanko could or would ever be this problematic, but we all remember what happened when Cutter Gauthier suspiciously never signed an entry-level contract and then went AWOL for the subsequent development camp.
All things are good in moderation, and that applies to cautiousness, too.
Although it is not set in stone yet, Luchanko will likely return to the Guelph Storm and play the 2024-25 season in the OHL. Luchanko scored 20 goals, 54 assists, and 74 points in 68 regular season games with the Storm last season.
