(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

A day after the newly-acquired defenseman stated he would like to retire in orange and black, it looks as if he will.

The Philadelphia Flyers signed Chris Pronger to a seven-year, $35 million extension this afternoon.

“I am very excited to be able to retire a Philadelphia Flyer and I am looking forward to many years with the Flyers logo on my chest,” said Pronger. “I think both parties wanted to get it handled in a timely fashion in order to move on and get things set up for future years down the line so that the Flyers could make moves either this year or next year, and know that they had me in place.”

Pronger's cap number was going to be at $6.25 million this season. This will allow the Flyers some breathing room with $1.25 million in cap space next year.

This is a huge deal for the Flyers as they are well on their way to stabilizing a dominant force in the NHL. The deal is front-loaded so it can help the Flyers be cap-friendly.

The deal is similar to the Mike Richards deal of 12 years at $69 million signed in 2007. Plus, Mike Richards is also the client of Pronger's agent, Pat Morris.

"We are pleased to have one of the NHL's premier defensemen in our organization and under contract long term," Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said in a statement. "When we made the trade for Chris, it was our intention to get him signed to an extension and we are glad we could come to this agreement today."

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