Philadelphia Flyers forward Noah Cates committed to the organization this summer on a new four-year, $16 million contract extension and he’s looking forward to a new era of Flyers hockey.

The Flyers have made a number of additions this off-season, acquiring forward Trevor Zegras via trade from the Anaheim Ducks on June 23 and signed goaltender Dan Vladar and centre Christian Dvorak in free agency.

They made a big change behind the bench, bringing in Rick Tocchet as the new head coach on May 14 after John Tortorella was fired on March 27.

Cates had a career-high 16 goals with 37 points in 78 games last season, his fourth with the Flyers and is ready to take that next step forward.  

"This new contract kind of feels like a new start for me," Cates told NHL.com on Wednesday. "Not just for me, but for the organization, with the new coaches and staff. I want to pull my weight."

Cates is looking forward to the opportunity of playing under Tocchet for the first time after spending the majority of his NHL career under Tortorella.  

"First of all, it's just a new voice," Cates said of Tocchet. "He played hard. He was a Flyer, so I think that means a lot. That means something. I've heard a lot of good things and just to get to work with him and have the new fresh ideas, plus the new fresh faces around, there's so much to be excited about come September."

The Flyers missed the playoffs for a fifth straight season at 33-39-10, as they finished 15 points behind the Montreal Canadiens, who earned the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

"We were close a couple of years ago, and we just kind of faltered last year," Cates said. "That's behind us. We've got a lot of new faces, and just the newness of the organization and the season. I think we can bounce back if everyone can have a better year and push themselves, then I think that playoff push is right there for us."

Philadelphia has also been busy taking care of its future this off-season. They signed defenceman Cam York to a five-year, $25.75 million contract extension and were busy at the draft, nabbing Brampton Steelheads winger Porter Martone sixth overall before trading up to take Windsor Spitfires centre Jack Nesbitt at No. 12.

With a number of players on the roster who are under 24, including Matvei Michkov, Devin Kaplan, Tyson Foerster and Jamie Drysdale with others like Jett Luchanko and Oliver Bonk on the way, Cates has become an elder statesman already at age 26.

"It's kind of crazy. A year or two ago I was the young guy, the new guy, and now I've been able to be in some leadership meetings and really feel like I have a voice," Cates said. "So now it's a matter of responsibility. But I like that. I appreciate that. I think I can help on the ice and off the ice as well and just try to do whatever it takes to bring my best to this organization.

"The fact that they locked me up for four more years and just to know where the franchise is at, where we've been the past couple of years and where we're looking at going, it's super exciting."