It's official: Left winger James van Riemsdyk is returning to the Flyers.
On Sunday, he confirmed he had signed with the Flyers on Rogers SportsNet.
The 29-year-old van Riemsdyk scored a career-high 36 goals for Toronto last season and he became an unrestricted free agent at noon Sunday. He signed a five-year deal with an annual cap hit of $7 million.
"First and foremost, I looked at the team they have," van Riemsdyk said. "The players they have, the guys they have coming up, too. I'm really excited about that."
Van Riemsdyk called the Flyers a "classy" organization and said he talked to coach Dave Hakstol and management to "feel them out a bit" before making his decision.
The left winger said the Flyers were a "good option" and that 10 to 12 teams showed interest in signing him. "I'm excited," he said about returning to Philly.
The Flyers sent the left winger to Toronto for Luke Schenn in 2012, and it became one of the worst trades in franchise history.
Van Riemsdyk, who was selected by the Flyers with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 draft (behind Patrick Kane), became one of the league's most dependable left wingers in his six years with the Maple Leafs, while Schenn was a bust.
The player they call "JVR" just finished a six-year, $25.5 million deal with Toronto.
Van Riemsdyk, a native of Middletown in Central Jersey who grew up as a New York Rangers fan, is happy to be playing close to home again.
"My parents are doing back flips right now," he said. "It's an exciting day for sure to share this with them."
Van Riemsdyk will probably be the Flyers' second-line left winger on a unit centered by Nolan Patrick. Claude Giroux is their No. 1 left winger.
He will give the Flyers a much-needed net presence, and he can be used on either the first or second power-play unit. (Click this link for a story I did on van Riemsdyk and his high school buddies back when he was a Flyers rookie in 2009.)
This is Ron Hextall's biggest signing since he became the Flyers' general manager four years ago, and he also hopes to sign a third-line center. Tyler Bozak (St. Louis) and Paul Stastny (Vegas) have reportedly agreed to sign elsewhere, so Riley Nash is the best free-agent center available at the moment. (Check back for updates. We are still waiting for Hextall to address the media.)
