Flyers Sign Rodrgio Abols, Oscar Eklind To One-Year Extensions

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forwards Rodrigo Abols and Oscar Eklind to one-year contract extensions. Abols’ extension will be a two-way contract with an $800K salary at the NHL level; while Eklind’s deal is a one-way contract with a flat $950K salary. Both players were set to become restricted-free agents this summer.

This is particularly great news for Eklind, who will get his stay in Philadelphia reaffirmed after playing his first season in the AHL. The six-foot-four winger scored five goals and 22 points in 64 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season, after joining the Flyers organization from Sweden last summer. Eklind had spent the prior nine seasons playing at various levels of Swedish pros. He made his SHL debut at the age of 17 and played through his first 15 pro games between 2016-17 and 2017-18. Without any pro points through those appearances, Eklind was moved to Pantern IK of Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan – the second-tier pro league.

Eklind scored six points in 28 games in his first year in the HockeyAllsvenskan, but grew to 30 points in 52 games just four seasons later. That was enough to earn a move back to the SHL, and to Brynas IF, where Eklind found a bit more footing at the top level. He managed 30 points in 97 games and two seasons with Brynas, then capped off his time in Sweden with 28 points in 48 games with Lulea HF last season. He’s a lumbering, heavy-hitting winger who finds impacts away from the scoresheet. Those attributes, and a one-way deal, could be enough to earn Eklind an NHL debut next season.

Abols received that chance this season by playing in the first 22 games of his NHL career. He recorded five points, four penalty minutes, and a minus-10 in that span – menial enough stats to confine him to the minor leagues for the bulk of the season. Abols was far more productive with Lehigh Valley – netting 15 goals and 32 points in 47 games, good for fourth on the team in total scoring. Like Eklind, Abols spent extended time in Sweden prior to this season – though he found far more production in the SHL. He averaged 34 points a season over the last four years in Sweden, including a career-high 41 points in 51 games with Orebro HK during the 2022-23 season. Abols was originally drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in 2016, and played through 36 AHL games and four ECHL games in the 2019-20 season. Facing a glass ceiling in Vancouver, he opted for a move to Sweden, and will now look to find a hardier NHL…