Did the Flyers overpay for James van Riemsdyk?

It didn’t register as the biggest contract extension in Philadelphia this week – Michael Vick did the honors with his new six-year deal rumored to be for nearly $100 million – but James van Riemsdyk is now a very rich man.

The 22-year-old van Riemsdyk inked a six-year, $25.5 million deal with an annual cap hit of $4.25 million Tuesday and figures to be a building block of a strong young core that the Flyers can build their future around.

With that being said, a cursory glance at the numbers has to leave some wondering as to whether or not the Flyers unnecessarily broke the bank on the 6-3, 210-pound left winger.

While supporters of the deal will undoubtedly point out that van Riemsdyk enjoyed a strong postseason, one where he collected seven goals and was arguably the Flyers’ best and most consistent players throughout a run that saw Philadelphia dispatch of the Buffalo Sabres in seven games before being swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion in Boston, van Riemsdyk hasn’t produced at a level that should earn him that kind of money yet.

He tantalized the Flyer faithful with flashes of brilliance so far despite playing for a coach who’s notorious for favoring veteran players over playing his young pups in Peter Laviolette. On the flip side, he’s also seen his fair share of healthy scratches and games where he barely sniffed the ice. For better or worse, he still carries the stigma of being the No. 2 pick in the 2007 draft, one spot behind Patrick Kane, who’s already brought a Stanley Cup to his town and boasts three consecutive seasons of 70 points or more. JVR can’t match any of those things.

Sure, there was a slight improvement in his numbers last year with his 21-19-40 line in 75 games compared to his rookie season where he put up 15-20-35 in 78 games, but $4.25 million per season seems to be an awful lot for a guy who has one solid postseason under his belt. Granted, it’s rare that a 22-year-old 6-3, 210-pound left winger with soft hands and a body that’s still developing is up for renegotiation, so maybe Paul Holmgren’s hand was forced a little bit.

On the other hand, that kind of money for a guy whose ceiling is probably that of a fifth or sixth forward is probably paying a bit much on a team that’s loaded with forward skill and is usually up to the maximum on the salary cap. After somehow getting the better, faster, more proven Claude Giroux to sign for three years and $11.5 million, it’s a bit surprising that Holmgren was willing to dole out this kind of cash for van Riemsdyk.

Holmgren is typically a whiz with the cap. He usually signs his young, in-house players to team-friendly deals and while $4.25 million per year probably won’t seem as bad in the coming years, $113.333.33 per point (based on JVR’s average points per season) probably isn’t what Holmgren wants to be shelling out.

It’s likely that JVR takes another step forward this year. With the departures of Mike Richards and  Carter (coincidentally, two players who were jettisoned not long after signing blockbuster extensions to stay in Philadelphia for the rest of their careers) and the influx of more young, highly-hyped and unproven talents like Brayden Schenn (the fifth pick of the 2009 draft) and Sean Couturier (the eighth pick this year), van Riemsdyk’s minutes should increase steadily and his numbers will likely consequently spike. Until they do though, and until he reaches the 60 or 70-point plateau, this will remain a tale of overpayment.