Flyers sign restricted free agent Ronnie Attard; Noah Cates headed for arbitration

The Flyers signed their first restricted free agent of the summer Wednesday, agreeing to a two-year, $1.7 million contract with defenseman Ronnie Attard.

The deal is a two-way/one-way contract, meaning Attard will be paid differently depending on whether he plays in the NHL or AHL this season. In the following season, he will be paid the $850,000 average annual value regardless of what league he is playing in.

Attard, 24, is the first of the Flyers’ five restricted free agents to agree to terms with the team. He was an AHL All-Star last season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, leading the team’s defensemen in goals (12), assists (20), and points (32). Attard made the Flyers’ opening-night roster but did not play a game before being sent down. Ultimately, he played two games with the NHL club.

The 2019 third-round pick is considered one of the organization’s top defensive prospects and has posted two goals and two assists in 17 NHL games. With the Flyers moving on from Ivan Provorov and Tony DeAngelo, Attard and Egor Zamula are expected to push for an opening-night roster spot.

The Flyers also announced they have signed veteran defenseman Victor Mete to a one-year, two-way, $775,000 contract. The 25-year-old Mete, who has played 247 career NHL games, split last season between the NHL and AHL with Toronto. He will compete for a roster spot in training camp but also figures to spend time at Lehigh Valley. The 5-foot-9 Mete is known for his skating and ability as a puck mover and previously spent time in the NHL with Montreal and Ottawa.

Now the Flyers will turn their attention to finalizing deals with their other restricted free agents: Morgan Frost, Cam York, Noah Cates, and Olle Lycksell.

One of those deals is now in a holding pattern, as Cates elected for salary arbitration before Wednesday’s 5 p.m. deadline. The young center will now be assigned a hearing date when he and his camp, as well as the Flyers, will be given opportunities to present their respective cases to a neutral third party to resolve the contract dispute. The third-party arbitrator then decides what the player’s salary should be and the team has the choice to accept or decline the ruling. If the team declines the arbitrator’s salary terms, the player then becomes an unrestricted free agent.

This year’s arbitration hearings will take place from July 20 to Aug. 4. Cates and the Flyers can continue to negotiate and even reach an agreement prior to the hearing date.