Flyers sign Noah Cates to a new deal before arbitration.

The arbitration process in the National Hockey League can often be an ugly one. Teams are effectively forced to argue against their own player and this in turn can often lead to frayed relationships or hurt feelings after the arbitration process has concluded.

For this reason we have seen more and more teams and players over the years finding ways to come to an agreement and avoid the process all together, something both the Philadelphia Flyers and Noah Cates have decided to do to today.

On Monday, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that Cates and the Flyers have avoided arbitration by coming to terms on a new two year contract. That contract will carry an average annual value and salary cap hit of $2.625 million per season, a significant raise for Cates who made just $925,000 in each of the last two seasons.

The length of this deal also means that the two sides could find themselves back in this same position two years from now, as Cates will once again be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent when this new deal comes to an end.

Cates appeared in all 82 games for the Flyers last season, recording 13 goals and adding 25 assists for a total of 38 points on the season.