UPDATED: Giroux's extension finalized and agreed to

July 4, 2013

By Nick Tricome

UPDATE #2: It's official, Giroux signed to the eight-year contract extension.

#Flyers officially confirm Claude Giroux has signed an 8-year contract extension. #NHL
— Anthony SanFilippo (@AnthonySan37) July 5, 2013

Here is the press release statement by GM Paul Holmgren concerning Giroux's deal.

“We are pleased to announce that we have agreed to an eight-year contract extension with Claude Giroux,” Holmgren said. “Claude is a high-quality young man that over the past few years has blossomed into our best player and also one of the top players in the league. We look forward to more and better things to come from Claude over the next number of years as we try to achieve our goal of becoming a championship team.”

UPDATE: Giroux's contract extension has been finalized, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun. He will sign an 8-year, $66.2 million deal that has a full no-movement clause.

Giroux's annual cap hit will be $8.275 million starting in the 2014-15 season.

An update on Giroux deal I tweeted about earlier today... It's finalized now: 8 years, $66.2 M _ $8.275 M AAV. Includes full NMC
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) July 5, 2013

ORIGINAL
Claude Giroux is going to be a rich man in a couple days.

Notes from Tuesday

July 3, 2013

By Nick Tricome

The Vinny Lecavalier signing took up a lot of attention yesterday, but there was some more Flyers-related news that broke.

Here is a quick look...

Lecavalier agrees to terms with Philly, but Flyers still have issues to address

July 2, 2013

By Nick Tricome

The Flyers secured one former captain when they reached a deal with defenseman Mark Streit, and  now they secured another.

Center Vincent Lecavalier, the former Tampa Bay Lightning captain who was bought out of his contract a week ago, has agreed to five-year, $22.5 million contract with Philadelphia. The deal will carry a $4.5 million cap hit, along with a no-movement clause.

Flyers use second compliance buyout on Bryz

June 25, 2013

By Nick Tricome

The Flyers wasted no time using their second compliance buyout.

Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who has been one of the Flyers' more interesting characters over the past two years, has been informed by the organization that his nine-year, $51 million contract will be bought out.

Danny Briere...Thank You

June 21, 2013

By Nick Tricome

So the reports were true.

On Thursday, the Flyers confirmed that Danny Briere will have his contract bought out 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final ends. Then, he will be a free agent.

It's the end of an era in Flyers history, but endings allow time for reflection.

Update: We're Back!

June 6, 2013

It took some time, but I'm finally back to updating 215 Sports again! I have some help this time too! My friend, Mike Patterson, will now be helping me write for the blog. Content should be added more regularly now with Mike in the mix.

In addition, adding Mike also allows 215 Sports to expand. A new page called 215 Basketball will open up on the blog soon. Mike will do the best job he possibly can to keep you up to date with the 76ers on the new page.

Phillies coverage will resume tonight with the opener of a four-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Flyers coverage will start up again after the Stanley Cup Finals end and Sixers coverage will follow the same  route, starting after the NBA Finals.

Now we jut need to find an Eagles and a Union writer and we're set! If you're interested, e-mail me.

Once again, I apologize for the halt in coverage. I'm very sorry that I had to stop posting for a while and I cannot thank you enough for your patience.

Go Flyers! Go Phillies! And now, go Sixers!
- Nick Tricome

Notice

May 22, 2013

215 Sports has been down since the beginning of April and for that, I am extremely sorry. Final projects and preparations for final exams took up a lot of my time over the course of April and early May, leaving me unable to post on the blogs consistently. But finals are done now and I just began my summer break. However that brings good and bad news.The good news is that I can get back to posting again! The bad news is that I got a job that will most likely restrict how often I can update the blog.

The past couple of weeks have been a lot of planning and thinking about how I can better manage the blog with everything else going on in my life, what new content I can produce for the blog and how I can make this site a better overall source for the happenings in Philadelphia sports.

I have a lot of ideas in mind, but I ask you, the reader, for your patience. I don't know how long it could take  to put some of these ideas in motion, but I will do anything I can to make these ideas happen at some point in the future.

I'm working on putting a team together right now, that way it will be much easier to keep the blog up-to-date and will bring different styles of writing into the mix. I'm also thinking of ways to reboot the podcast and have put serious thought into bringing video content to the blog.

I have a few other things I'm trying to make happen as well, but I can only share the ones I just mentioned in the last paragraph, because they're the ones that are closest to happening. The other idea still need some work.

Expect more announcements within the next couple of weeks and a full return for 215 Sports in the imminent future.

Again, I am very sorry for my absence. It's been a while, but I ask you to wait just a bit longer.

I can't thank you enough for your support!

- Nick Tricome

P.S. - If you're interested in writing for 215 Sports, e-mail me at nicktricome215@gmail.com