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Cam Atkinson

Lightning Sign Cam Atkinson

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed veteran forward Cam Atkinson to a one-year, $900K contract. Atkinson was bought out of the final year of his deal with the Philadelphia Flyers ahead of free agency, leaving him open to sign with any club.

Tampa Bay continues their streak of eye-raising signings by inking one of the market’s oldest names. Atkinson, 35, struggled to hold onto his groove with the Flyers last season, managing just 28 points in 70 games and earning multiple healthy scratches in the second half of the year. It was a far fall for the acclaimed NHL veteran, especially considering he posted 23 goals and 50 points in 73 games in 2022-23.

But despite recent struggles, Atkinson will be remembered for his years of success with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Atkinson served a prominent top-line role for the Blue Jackets throughout much of the 2010s, routinely challenging the 50 or 60-point mark, on the back of consistent 20-goal scoring. He had a career year in 2016-17, when he managed 35 goals and 62 points in 82 games, only to follow it up with 41 goals and 69 points in 80 games two years later.

Atkinson’s career seems to be on the downswing after a rough year with the Flyers – but his deal in Tampa Bay is certainly low-risk, high-reward. For less than $1MM, the Lightning have added a veteran forward and tremendous goal-scorer. Atkinson could be set for a prime role in the team’s middle-six, where linemates like Brandon Hagel or Anthony Cirelli could help bring his game to the heights it was sat at. That will certainly be what Tampa Bay hopes for, as they look to make up for the absence of franchise legend Steven Stamkos with the additions of Jake Guentzel and Atkinson.

Flyers Buy Out Cam Atkinson

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06/29: Atkinson has cleared unconditional waivers and will be bought out, shares Sportsnet’s Elliote Friedman (Twitter link).

06/28: The Philadelphia Flyers are planning to buy out the final season of Cam Atkinson’s seven-year, $41.125MM contract, the team shared. Philadelphia will carry a $2.358MM cap hit this season, and a $1.758MM cap hit next season, as a result of this buyout – accumulating $1.759MM in total savings over the $5.875MM cap hit that Atkinson was due this year. The Flyers will also get out from under Atkinson’s modified no-trade-clause, which allowed the veteran winger to submit a 10-team no-trade list.

This buyout brings a quiet end to Atkinson’s three-year stretch in Philadelphia. He was plenty productive two sesaons ago, posting 23 goals and 50 points in 73 games – his highest scoring since 2019. But Atkinson was forced out of the entirety of the 2022-23 season with a neck injury and struggled to rekindle his spark this year. He fell to a measly 13 goals and 28 points in 70 games. On the back of lagging performances, Atkinson slipped all year, ultimately earning multiple healthy scratches in the season’s second half.

Benchings are a heavy fall for Atkinson, who spent nearly a decade locked into the Columbus Blue Jackets top-six earlier in his career. He posted at least 20 goals in every season between 2013 and 2019 – including a career-high 41 goals and 69 points in 80 games during the 2018-19 season. But injuries have never been Atkinson’s friend – with a string of lower-body injuries limiting his early career and a nagging right-ankle sprain ultimately cutting his 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons in half. With the writing of an aging veteran on the wall, Columbus flipped Atkinson to the Flyers in July of 2021, acquiring Jakub Voracek – another veteran winger plagued by injuries.

And while Atkinson will now enter the free agent market with still winds, there seems to still be interest around the league. The San Jose Sharks were reportedly interested in trading for Atkinson just two weeks ago, though his trade protection kept him from going to a Sharks team that seems set for another down year. San Jose surely would’ve preferred Atkinson’s near-$6MM price tag, as they try to reach the cap floor, but will now get a chance to negotiate openly with the 12-year veteran. Atkinson hasn’t found much success over his career, playing in just 35 career postseason games, but he offers the leadership of a veteran with 770 career games – a presence that could be invaluable to young teams like the Sharks.

Sharks Showing Trade Interest In Cam Atkinson

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As the Sharks look to add some depth to a league-worst roster, they’re interested in taking on Cam Atkinson from the Flyers for some depth scoring help, TSN’s Darren Dreger writes. A trade could be blocked if Atkinson has San Jose on his 10-team no-trade list, though. That’s likely the case, as sources tell Dreger the veteran winger “isn’t keen on a move to the Sharks.”

Atkinson’s name is popping up frequently in both trade and buyout rumors this summer after a highly disappointing 2023-24 campaign. The Flyers acquired the 5’8″ winger from the Blue Jackets in 2021, but injuries derailed his tenure in Philadelphia after one season. A herniated disc and left tricep surgery sidelined him for all of last season, and he wasn’t the consistent top-six force he’s been in the past upon returning.

He stayed mostly healthy last season – a good sign for the 35-year-old’s long-term quality of life, but his production fell off a cliff. Dressing in 70 games, Atkinson scored 13 goals and 28 points, the first time in his career he’d had under half a point per game. He averaged 15:57 per contest, his lowest usage in 10 years.

While his offense was a disappointment after registering 23 goals and 50 points in a Flyers uniform two years ago, he had good defensive results this season, much like the rest of his surprisingly competitive Flyers squad. Philadelphia controlled 53.7% of expected goals with Atkinson on the ice at even strength, and he was on the ice for roughly 13 fewer expected goals against than in the 2021-22 season in which he played a similar amount of games.

Atkinson is still an NHL-caliber talent, but not one worth his $5.875MM cap hit. As the Flyers look to take another step toward playoff contention next season, he’s a bit of an albatross.

In the seemingly unlikely event he doesn’t block a trade, it would likely take an asset or two to get Atkinson’s deal off the books entirely and over to California. A buyout would still save north of $3.5MM in cap space for the Flyers this season but would result in a $1.75MM cap penalty for 2025-26, per CapFriendly.

For Sharks general manager Mike Grier, taking on bad contracts outright is one of the few ways he can weaponize his rebuilding club’s cap space. He’s used up all three of his salary retention spots in trading away Brent Burns, Tomáš Hertl and Erik Karlsson, so brokering deals as a third party won’t be an option until Burns’ deal comes off the books in 2025.

In San Jose, Atkinson would be a slight upgrade on the declining veteran role played by pending UFA Mike Hoffman this year. Atkinson has a much more solid track record defensively than Hoffman, though, and could help them improve their league-worst goals-against figure. There are also open spots in their top six that could result in Atkinson seeing time with prospective 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini next season.

Flyers Considering Buying Out Cal Petersen And Cam Atkinson

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This past season was a tough one for Flyers winger Cam Atkinson who found himself a healthy scratch on several occasions while underachieving offensively.  Meanwhile, it was even worse for goaltender Cal Petersen who spent most of the season in the minors and struggled in his brief action with Philadelphia.

On top of that, cap space is at a premium for the Flyers as CapFriendly projects them to have barely $500K in regular cap room this summer which isn’t enough to try to make any sort of upgrade to their roster.  Accordingly, GM Daniel Briere acknowledged to NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman that the team is considering all of its options when it comes to opening up cap space, including buying out the veterans when the window to do so opens up later this month.  However, no decision has been made at this time.

Atkinson is coming off the quietest full season of his career.  The 35-year-old notched just 13 goals and 15 assists in 70 games while seeing his ice time drop to a little under 16 minutes a night.  While he was a legitimate top-line threat earlier in his career, he has become a secondary scorer but one that carries a hefty price tag with a $5.875MM AAV.  That would be a difficult contract to move without incentivizing a team to take it on which makes the idea of a buyout more palatable.  They’d save a little over $3.5MM for 2024-25 if they went this route with Atkinson but would add a $1.76MM dead cap charge to their books in 2025-26.

As for Petersen, he was acquired in a salary dump from Los Angeles this summer.  At one point, it looked like he could start as the backup and allow Samuel Ersson to spend more time in the minors but instead, the 29-year-old was waived and spent most of the year in Lehigh Valley.  He didn’t have a particularly strong campaign there either, posting a 2.71 GAA and a .902 SV% in 28 regular season appearances.  Meanwhile, in five games with the Flyers, Petersen notched a .864 SV% while allowing 18 goals in five games.  A buyout for him would reduce his cap charge from $5MM to just $1MM for 2024-25 but add $2MM onto the 2025-26 books.

It’s worth noting that Philadelphia does have other cap room available to them as Ryan Ellis is set to remain on LTIR for next season, freeing up a potential $6.25MM in extra flexibility.  However, going deep into that would prevent them from banking any in-season cap room so ideally, they’d like to try to avoid it.

There’s also the uncertainty with Ryan Johansen’s situation.  Briere indicated to Kimelman that there’s no clarity yet when it comes to the center:

He’s going through some kind of rehab. He had an injection; claims he has a hip injury. At this point, honestly I’m not too sure where it’s at. We’re not sure if he’s going to need surgery, or if he’s going to be ready for camp. We don’t really know at this point.

Johansen has one year left on his deal with the Flyers being responsible for a $4MM cap charge.  If he’s unavailable to play at all, he would then be LTIR-eligible, giving them more wiggle room if they opted to use that.  However, the fact there is some lingering uncertainty about Johansen’s health takes a buyout off the table as injured players can’t be bought out, making Petersen and Atkinson the potentially viable options on that front.

The first buyout window will open up two days after the Stanley Cup ends and run through June 30th so while there is still time for Briere to make a decision on what to do with Atkinson and Petersen, he’ll have to move quickly once the window opens if they do indeed decide to part with one or both of them.

Snapshots: Cates, Fast, Liljegren

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The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that forward Noah Cates will be out on Thursday due to personal reasons (Twitter link). Cam Atkinson will step back into the lineup in his place, marking the first game Atkinson has played since March 16th. The veteran Atkinson will step back into the lineup looking to snap a 16-game scoring drought. He’s managed 25 shots in that stretch, though his only other stat changes have come via a -9 and, interestingly, the first fight of Atkinson’s 10-year career. He squared off against Tampa Bay forward Michael Eyssimont, who used his two-inch size advantage to pummel Atkinson.

Atkinson is taking on more grit and responsibility as he finds himself fighting for a consistent spot in the lineup. The Flyers will hope he can find his groove soon, as he fills in for Cates’ role on the fourth-line. Cates has just 13 points through 51 games this season – a far step down from his 38 points as a rookie last year. He’s sacrificed scoring for a much more poised, all-around role, improving his faceoff percentage by five percent this season and yet to record a penalty this season. Atkinson will face pressure from healthy scratches Garnet Hathaway and Nicolas Deslauriers if he can’t make an impact quickly.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Jesper Fast will miss his fifth straight game on Thursday, per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff (Twitter link). Fast has been recovering from an upper-body injury and returned to the team’s practice in a no-contact jersey. He’s served in a quaint role when healthy, managing six goals and 18 points in 66 games while averaging 12:48 in ice time. Jack Drury and Stefan Noesen have gained a boost in ice time with Fast out, though Carolina could also lean on healthy scratch Brendan Lemieux if needed.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren has been removed from the team’s lineup on Thursday, per NHL Network’s David Alter (Twitter link). He was a late call for head coach Sheldon Keefe and will now miss the game with an upper-body injury. Liljegren’s absence opens the door for Mark Giordano to return to the lineup, marking his first game since February 29th. Giordano, the NHL’s oldest player, has one goal and seven points in 38 games this season.

Metropolitan Notes: Flyers, Pelech, Varlamov

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The Philadelphia Flyers have announced they will healthy scratching veteran forward Cam Atkinson tonight when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. The long-time former Blue Jacket had a terrific start to the year in Philadelphia and has eight goals and 10 assists on the season in 37 games. However, he has struggled as of late with just three assists in his last 17 games and no goals in his last 22 games.

The Flyers also announced that young center Morgan Frost will be a healthy scratch. Frost set career highs last season with 19 goals and 27 assists in 81 games but is on pace for just 33 points this season. The 24-year-old has been far less physical this season and has been somewhat sheltered as he’s seen over 70 percent of his shifts start in the offensive zone. Frost has run very hot and cold this season as he started the year pointless in his first six games before rallying for four points in his next three games. His season has been a cycle of putting up points in bunches and then disappearing from the scoresheet for an extended period.

Both players are unlikely to be held out of the lineup for too long as the club is likely being sent a message by head coach John Tortorella after dropping five of their last six games.

In other Metropolitan Notes:

  • Stefan Rosner of NHL.com is reporting that defenseman Adam Pelech of the New York Islanders is getting closer to returning from injury. Pelech has been out of the Islanders lineup since November 24th when he suffered an upper-body injury in a game against the Ottawa Senators. The Toronto, Ontario native struggled to start the year, registering just three assists in his first 16 games while struggling at 5 on 5. He started to put together a stretch of good games leading up to the injury, but unfortunately, he was forced out of the lineup just as he was trending upward.
  • Stefan Rosner is also reporting that Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov is dealing with a lower-body injury and will be out day-to-day. According to Rosner, Varlamov will remain with the team on the Islanders’ road trip but will likely not play in the coming days. Varlamov had been dealing with an undisclosed injury late in December and sat out a game on December 29th against the Washington Capitals.

Morning Notes: Senators Coaching Candidates, Kuzmenko, Atkinson

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The Senators are at an uncertain precipice in their years-long rebuild. As their new core of Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun, and Jake Sanderson enters their primes, the team is no closer to securing their first playoff berth since losing in the 2017 Eastern Conference Final. That led new owner Michael Andlauer to clean house over the past few months, firing longtime general manager Pierre Dorion in November and head coach D.J. Smith earlier this week. 71-year-old Jacques Martin, the Senators’ all-time leader in games coached, took over as interim, but it’s unlikely the Senators are comfortable with him as the long-term solution behind the bench. He’s been out of coaching roles for almost three seasons and only recently re-joined the Senators in a senior advisor role earlier this month.

Smith was the fourth coach fired this season, but the Senators and the Blues are the only teams not to name a permanent successor immediately. Drew Bannister holds the interim title in St. Louis after the team fired 2019 Stanley Cup champion coach Craig Berube earlier this month. That leaves the Senators on the prowl for a permanent bench boss. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli named an intriguing candidate at number one on his list of targets: John Gruden, head coach of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.

Some may cringe at the thought of the Senators going with a second straight first-time head coach behind the bench, but it’s a logical fit given Michael Andlauer’s modus operandi since assuming ownership. Andlauer and interim general manager Steve Staios oversaw Gruden’s tenure as head coach of the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs from 2016 to 2018, culminating in a league championship. Unlike Martin, Gruden has worked in NHL roles since departing the Bulldogs, serving as an assistant coach for the Islanders from 2018 to 2022 before joining the Bruins as an assistant on Jim Montgomery’s staff for last year’s record-breaking season. This year, he has the Maple Leafs’ primary minor-league affiliate rolling with a 13-7-4 record, third in the AHL’s North Division.

Behind Gruden on Seravalli’s list are two coaches looking for a new home after being fired earlier this season: former Oilers bench boss Jay Woodcroft and former Wild coach Dean Evason. Longtime NHL coach Claude Julien, who Seravalli reports is “eager to get back on the bench,” earned a fourth-place mention, while former Senators center and current Bruins assistant coach Chris Kelly rounds out his top five.

Other notes from around the league this morning:

  • It’s been a disappointing sophomore campaign for Canucks winger Andrei Kuzmenko. The 27-year-old potted 39 goals in 81 games last season after signing with Vancouver as a free agent out of Russia, but his point production and ice time have dipped this year, and he finds himself outside of a top-six role with three healthy scratches this season. As a result, some trade rumors have popped up over the past couple of weeks. However, Kuzmenko’s agent, Dan Milstein, says his camp doesn’t fuel those talks. Speaking with British Columbia-based reporter Joshua Griffith, Milstein said Kuzmenko is on the same page with both the Canucks coaching staff and front office, reiterating his client is “very happy to be in Vancouver” and that there is a path forward for Kuzmenko in the organization.
  • Moving from coast to coast, another established winger seeing a gradual decrease in ice time is Flyers veteran Cam Atkinson. The 34-year-old played a season-low 13:48 in Tuesday’s game against the Devils and has no points in his last three games. Head coach John Tortorella said this morning that Atkinson “hasn’t shown enough energy and quickness recently,” a thinly veiled statement that Atkinson could be sitting in the press box for a game or two soon – a move Tortorella isn’t afraid to execute (via veteran Flyers reporter Sam Carchidi). After missing 2022-23 with a neck injury, Atkinson has played in all 31 contests for the Flyers this year, recording eight goals and eight assists. The two-time 30-goal scorer has spent most of his career playing under Tortorella, spending six seasons with him in Columbus from 2015 to 2021, and by all accounts, has a positive relationship with the outspoken coach.

Metropolitan Notes: Werenski, Danforth, Atkinson, Couturier, Mete, Arvanitis

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With training camps opening today for most teams, a few squads made some paper moves last night to properly represent players’ statuses heading into 2023-24. One of them was the Columbus Blue Jackets, who officially activated star defenseman Zach Werenski from injured reserve, according to CapFriendly. The move ends a more than ten-month stint on the injured list and clears the path for Werenski to resume his role as the team’s top defender on opening night.

Really, Werenski’s injury was incredibly symbolic for the Blue Jackets last season. A team with some promise after flashy offseason moves, like bringing in free agent prize Johnny Gaudreau, needed everything to go right to be competitive in the Eastern Conference. But a shoulder injury sustained just 13 games into the season would end Werenski’s campaign – during a game that also saw young defender Nick Blankenburg sustain an ankle injury that kept him out long-term. Adam Boqvist had gone down with a foot injury not too much earlier, and before long, Jake Bean joined the trio on the injured list with a season-ending shoulder injury – meaning Columbus had lost four of their top six defensemen to start the campaign within the season’s first 16 games. After a similarly flashy summer regarding player acquisitions, Werenski and the other Blue Jackets will look to avoid the same horrid injury luck.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan Division this morning:

  • Columbus also took forward Justin Danforth off injured reserve, who played just six games last season before a shoulder injury ended his campaign. The 5-foot-9 winger had gotten off to a great start during his second season in Columbus, registering two goals and an assist through five contests and even sliding up into the top six at points. The 30-year-old, a pending UFA with a $975K cap hit, could be on the outside looking in for a roster spot, however. The team needs spots in the lineup for younger forwards like Yegor Chinakhov, Adam Fantilli, Alexandre Texier, and, likely, Russian rookie Dmitri Voronkov after a strong KHL season in 2022-23.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers made similar paper moves, per CapFriendly, activating forwards Cam Atkinson, Sean Couturier and defenseman Victor Mete off injured reserve. Both Atkinson and Couturier missed the entirety of 2022-23 due to upper-body and back injuries, respectively. The Flyers’ front office has said repeatedly throughout the summer that they expected both players back at full health for the start of the upcoming season. Mete, a July free agent signing, played just 17 games between the NHL and AHL last season with Toronto before a lower-body injury shut him down for the season in early December.
  • The New York Rangers have signed goaltender Brad Arvanitis to a PTO, according to a team announcement on X. He’ll be in camp as an extra body with an ECHL contract already secured with the Maine Mariners, the Boston Bruins’ affiliate, for next season. Arvanitis, 26, actually spent the majority of last season playing in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), a league technically one rung below the ECHL but carries no direct NHL affiliation. However, SPHL teams often serve as a source of reserve players for ECHL squads, and the two leagues will often loan players to each other throughout the season. In his first full professional season after finishing his collegiate career at Division III school Babson College, Arvanitis posted a .919 save percentage, 2.71 goals-against average and a 9-6-2 record in 20 appearances with the SPHL’s Pensacola Ice Flyers.

Injury Notes: Couturier, Atkinson, Boucher, Pickering

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While there were a myriad of reasons why the Philadelphia Flyers as a franchise went on a significant downturn after their run to Game Seven of the second round in the 2019-20 playoffs, injuries have been among the biggest. The Flyers have simply lost too many players they planned on having as meaningful contributors to long-term injuries, and that has plunged the franchise into a rebuild as a result. Thankfully for Philadelphia, it seems two of their more significant players lost to injury may be ready to re-enter the lineup.

Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports reports that Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson were “very active” in today’s informal veteran skate before the start of rookie camp, adding that both players ” look ready for [training] camp. ” That’s a major development for the Flyers, who would be able to add a top-line center and a former 40-goal scorer back into their lineup after a full year missed for each player. While that likely won’t be enough to return head coach John Tortorella’s side back to the postseason, the presence of two accomplished veterans on the Flyers’ roster could help the development of the Flyers’ stable of young players and advance their rebuild.

More injury notes from across the NHL:

  • Tyler Boucher has had his development derailed by injuries since he was selected 10th overall by the Ottawa Senators at the 2021 draft. He only played in 21 games last season and missed some time in 2021-22 as well. Boucher has yet again run into injury trouble, suffering a groin injury in his preparation for the Senators’ rookie tournament. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Boucher “won’t participate” in the rookie tournament, but “will be fine for camp.” While it’s certainly possible that this injury is just a one-off issue that won’t cost Boucher very much in the long term, (one hopes this is the case) the fact that Boucher has had such persistent trouble staying healthy is a cause for concern with his development. Boucher was always going to be more of a project pick, with the Senators hoping that after a few years of development, Boucher could learn to leverage his impressive physical tools into on-ice success. It’s unclear whether he’s been able to do that to this point, though in order to make 2023-24 a valuable season of development he’ll need to be able to get onto the ice as much as possible.
  • Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review relays word from Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins head coach J.D. Forrest that 2022 first-round pick Owen Pickering is dealing with an undisclosed injury. Rorabaugh adds that he’s “hopefully ready by the start of training camp” though that is unclear at this time. Pickering is a bit of a long shot to make the Penguins out of camp, but did get into eight pro games last season and likely will spend one more year as a top-line defenseman in the WHL.

Latest On Availability Of Sean Couturier, Cam Atkinson, Ryan Ellis

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Philadelphia Flyers president of hockey operations Keith Jones addressed the health and availability of three of his organization’s bigger-name players to NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman today. He spoke on Flyers number-one center Sean Couturier, veteran goal scorer Cam Atkinson, and defenseman Ryan Ellis.

On Couturier and Atkinson, Jones said that both are expected to be healthy and on the ice for the start of Flyers training camp next month. That’s not only major news for each player but also the Flyers organization at large, as the team’s offensive attack has suffered tremendously in the absence of two of the team’s most experienced players.

Couturier, 30, is arguably the Flyers’ best player. Couturier hasn’t played an NHL game since December 2021 and has had two back surgeries since that point.

Kimelman notes that Couturier “Couturier was practicing before the end of last season and had been hoping to get into a game,” but the Flyers made the decision not to rush Couturier back into what was a lost season, preferring to afford him the more extended timeline of a full offseason of training leading up to his first game back.

When healthy, Couturier is a top-of-the-line two-way center who is capable of scoring at a near-point-per-game rate. (he has crossed the 75-point plateau twice in his career) The 2019-20 Selke Trophy winner could very well compete for more Selke trophies when healthy, especially now that Patrice Bergeron has retired.

With the Flyers intensely interested in developing their young talent and providing young players with prime opportunities to succeed in the NHL, having Couturier healthy is a huge asset. For young wingers such as Tyson Foerster or Bobby Brink, players the Flyers desperately want to succeed in the NHL, having the chance to play on a line centered by Couturier could do wonders in easing their adjustment to the NHL.

As for Atkinson, as a 34-year-old under contract only through the 2024-25 season he is unlikely to be with the Flyers by the time they enter their next competitive phase. That’s unlike Couturier, who is signed to a long-term, $7.75MM AAV contract through the end of the decade. Atkinson is a favorite of head coach John Tortorella but missed all of last season after undergoing neck surgery.

The fact that the Flyers’ next playoff run will likely happen outside of Atkinson’s contract doesn’t mean he can’t provide value to the Flyers for the rest of his deal. The former 41-goal scorer returning to full health could improve the developmental environment in Philadelphia, just as having a healthy Couturier would.

Atkinson is a widely respected veteran who can capably score 20 goals and 50 points in a full season. For a young center the Flyers wish to see continue to develop, such as Morgan Frost or Noah Cates, having an accomplished veteran winger to play with and help the line succeed offensively could be genuinely helpful.

The key to the right developmental environment for a rebuilding club is to provide the right mix of young players and established talent, rather than just stocking a roster with as many unproven youngsters as possible. The issue for the Flyers has been that so many of the team’s key veteran forwards have been injured (such as Couturier and Atkinson) or a poor fit with Tortorella. (Kevin Hayes)

Getting both Atkinson and Couturier back from their season-long injuries not only helps the Flyers win more games in the immediate term, but it should also yield real benefits for the development of the Flyers’ young talent.

As for Ellis, Jones told Kimelman that the defenseman is unlikely to “be able to continue his playing career because of a torn psoas muscle in his back.” Jones added that Ellis is “exhausting everything that he can in order to play” but that the injury is simply making his return to the ice impossible.

Ellis, 32, was a high-end defenseman for the Nashville Predators for 562 games before he was dealt to Philadelphia in the summer of 2021 in exchange for Philippe Myers and 2017 number-two pick Nolan Patrick.

Ellis only managed to play in four games for the Flyers, scoring five points, before injuries knocked him out of the lineup. As long as this injury keeps Ellis from being able to play he will likely remain on the Flyers’ long-term injured reserve list in order for the team to receive cap relief for Ellis’ $6.25MM AAV contract, a deal that runs through 2026-27.

While Ellis appears to have every desire to return to the ice and continue his career, based on Jones comments it appears that expecting Ellis to ever suit up for another NHL game would be a mistake. While the organization must be happy to have Atkinson and Couturier back for training camp, the seemingly permanent absence of Ellis is undoubtedly unfortunate for both the Flyers and Ellis himself.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. 

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