Rhett Gardner signs two-year deal with Philadelphia Flyers
Jul. 1—GRAND FORKS — Rhett Gardner is headed to a new organization for the first time in his professional career.
The former UND center and one-time National Collegiate Hockey Conference defensive forward of the year has signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The two-way contract means Gardner's compensation will differ depending on whether he's in the NHL or American Hockey League.
His NHL salary is $775,000. His AHL salary is $400,000 in 2023-24 and $425,000 in 2024-25, according to CapFriendly.
Gardner, who played at UND from 2015-19, has spent all four pro seasons in the Dallas organization.
Gardner has played 40 NHL games, scoring one goal and tallying two points.
He has been a key player for Dallas' top minor-league affiliate, the Texas Stars. He scored 10 goals and tallied 40 points in 71 games this season for Texas, earning the Professional Hockey Players' Association Unsung Hero Award for the AHL's Western Conference.
The Stars drafted Gardner in the fourth round, No. 116 overall, in 2016 — a few months after he helped UND win the 2016 NCAA national championship.
As of July 1, there are 20 former UND players under NHL contracts for 2023-24.
They are Jacob Bernard-Docker (Ottawa), Brock Boeser (Vancouver), Drake Caggiula (Edmonton), Judd Caulfield (Anaheim), Derek Forbort (Boston), Gardner (Philadelphia), Tyson Jost (Buffalo), Matt Kiersted (Florida), Tyler Kleven (Ottawa), Paul LaDue (N.Y. Islanders), Brad Malone (Edmonton), Zane McIntyre (Minnesota), Brock Nelson (Islanders), T.J. Oshie (Washington), Tucker Poolman (Vancouver), Jake Sanderson (Ottawa), Nick Schmaltz (Arizona), Cole Smith (Nashville), Troy Stecher (Arizona) and Christian Wolanin (Vancouver).
There are nine former Fighting Hawks who are unrestricted free agents after being on NHL contracts last season: forward Collin Adams, goalie Aaron Dell, forward Grant Mismash, forward Zach Parise, forward Austin Poganski, defenseman Colton Poolman, goalie Adam Scheel, forward Jonathan Toews and forward Jasper Weatherby.