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Flyers Place Jamie Drysdale On IR, Activate Ryan Poehling

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The Flyers have placed defenseman Jamie Drysdale on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 9 with an upper-body injury, reports Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 22-year-old will miss the team’s next two games, but there’s no timeline for his return beyond that. His spot on the active roster is going to center Ryan Poehling, who’s coming off IR and will play tonight against the Sharks, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Drysdale’s first full season with the Flyers hasn’t gotten off to a good start. He’s avoided being scratched, playing in all 15 games to date, but has struggled to produce offensively, with only one goal and two assists. While he is averaging a career-high 20:35 per game, his -10 rating is third-worst on the team, and the Flyers have controlled just 42.7% of shot attempts with Drysdale on the ice at even strength.

Acquired from the Ducks for forward prospect Cutter Gauthier midway through last season, injuries have plagued the once-promising right-shot defender. Shoulder issues have limited him to just 57 games since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

Few bet on Drysdale ever becoming a two-way dynamo – instead, his offensive prowess and power-play ability led the Ducks to select him sixth overall in the 2020 draft. He flashed that potential in 2021-22, recording 32 points in 81 games as a 19-year-old in his only healthy season. Drysdale has averaged over three minutes per game with the man advantage this year, but it hasn’t led to a resurgence in offensive production. All three of his points have come on the power play.

Drysdale’s injury means the Flyers will be without two of their three top-used defensemen this season tonight against San Jose. Cameron York is close to returning but remains unavailable, Hall reports. He’s also on IR and has been out since Oct. 25 with an upper-body injury. Veteran Erik Johnson will return to the lineup in Drysdale’s place while rookie Emil Andrae takes over as the quarterback on the Flyers’ top power-play unit.

Meanwhile, Poehling returns to action after missing the past few contests with a minor groin injury and for personal reasons. The 6’2″ 25-year-old last played on Nov. 2 against the Bruins. Through 12 appearances this season, Poehling has five assists and a +2 rating. He’s averaging 13:31 per game, a number that will likely increase tonight as he’s set to center the team’s second line between Anthony Richard and Matvei Michkov, the latter of whom will return to the lineup after being scratched for the past two games, the team confirmed. He replaces Morgan Frost, who will be a healthy scratch tonight, according to Hall.

In more minor injury news, goaltender Aleksei Kolosov practiced this morning and is close to returning the lower-body injury that forced the Flyers to dress an emergency backup goaltender against the Lightning last week, per Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports. The newly-promoted 22-year-old has a .863 SV% and a 0-3-0 record through his first three NHL appearances.

Flyers Place Ryan Poehling On IR, Recall Anthony Richard

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The Philadelphia Flyers have placed forward Ryan Poehling, retroactive to Saturday November 2nd. The details of Poehling’s injury weren’t revealed, though he didn’t join the Flyers on their three-game road trip that started on Tuesday due to personal reasons. Philadelphia hosts San Jose on Monday, November 11th – which will stand as Poehling’s next chance to return to the lineup.

Poehling appeared in all 12 of Philadelphia’s games before Tuesday, recording five assists, six penalty minutes, and 21 shot attempts while averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time. He’s searching for his footing this season after establishing a routine, middle-six role in his first season with the Flyers last year. Poehling earned 11 goals and 28 points in 77 games in that role. He also carried the heftiest faceoff responsibility of his career, winning 461 of 938 draws – good for a 49.1 faceoff-percentage, third-highest among Flyers centers. While his start to this season has been slow-coming, Poehling still leaves a noticeable hole in a struggling Flyers’ bottom-six.

In a corresponding move, the Flyers have also recalled centerman Anthony Richard from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Richard is in his first year with the Flyers organization, continuing his string of one-year tenures after spending the last three seasons in tenures with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, and Boston Bruins organizations. Lehigh Valley has proven Richard’s best sparring grounds so far though, where he currently sits with a team-leading nine points in seven games. He’s pulled the thread of top-end minor-league scoring through yet another season, after netting 55 points in 59 games last season and 67 points in 60 games in 2022-23.

Richard not only stands as one of Lehigh Valley’s hottest scorers, but also one of the longest-tenured veterans in the program. He boasts 309 points across 488 games and 10 seasons in the AHL, adding eight points – split evenly – in 24 career NHL games. This season is standing as a career-year for Richard, marking the highest production of his career – on pace for 92 points across a full AHL season. He could now get a chance to carry that momentum into the NHL, but he’ll need to earn a lineup spot first. Philadelphia is currently utilizing Noah Cates and Nicolas Deslauriers to fill Poehling’s vacancy at fourth-line center. Cates has posted an impressive 57.1 faceoff-percentage on 63 draws this season – which should be enough to hold down the role in the face of new pressure from Richard.

Metropolitan Notes: Roy, Chychrun, Rakell, Poehling

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The Capitals’ news cycle has been dominated by the health of a pair of top-four defensemen in recent days, and that hasn’t changed Tuesday. There’s good news to report regarding one of them – Matt Roy shed his no-contact designation in practice today as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. He’s been upgraded to questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Predators and could come off injured reserve before then, head coach Spencer Carbery added (via Silber).

Roy, 29, has suited up just once for the Caps since signing his six-year, $34.5MM contract with them over the summer. The longtime Kings defender sustained the injury in their season opener against the Devils and has missed the following 10 games. It was an inauspicious start for the usually trusty stay-at-home piece, who posted a -2 rating in less than 10 minutes of ice time against New Jersey.

Upon his return, he’ll look to improve a Washington defense that’s already fared pretty well without him. As a team, the Capitals are controlling 50.4% of shot attempts and 53.5% of scoring chances at even strength, led by some spectacular two-way play from John Carlson. Roy’s return will benefit Washington by pushing overtaxed veteran Dylan McIlrath down the depth chart – he’s been out-attempted 93-133 at even strength through 10 games and skated in second-pairing duties alongside Rasmus Sandin in the Caps’ last game, a role Roy will take over when he’s back in the lineup.

Unfortunately, there isn’t as much positive news regarding Jakob Chychrun’s health. Carbery said he’s not yet returned to skating with the rest of the team but is at least continuing to take reps before practice with team staff. Chychrun landed on IR over the weekend and has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury he sustained on Oct. 29 against the Rangers. He’s now missed seven days and is eligible to come off IR at any time, although it doesn’t appear that will happen in the next few days. Chychrun had two goals and two assists in eight games before exiting the lineup, tying for the team lead with seven takeaways.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan Division:

  • After a tough 2023-24 campaign, Rickard Rakell is one of the few Penguins performing at or over expectations this season. The 31-year-old leads the team in goals with six through 13 games and is third on the team with nine points. Rakell spoke to Josh Yohe of The Athletic yesterday, detailing how he overcame a great deal of self-doubt about his age and potential permanent decline to rediscover his game.
  • The Flyers will be without the services of center Ryan Poehling on their upcoming three-game road trip, head coach John Tortorella told Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports. He’s remaining in Philadelphia to nurse a minor injury and attend to a “family situation.” The 25-year-old had five assists and a +2 rating through 12 appearances this season, averaging 13:31 per game. He’s also posted great possession metrics for his heavy defensive-zone usage and is winning 50% of his draws for the first time in his six-year career. Noah Cates, who’s played in seven straight after being scratched four times in five games to start the season, will center the fourth line in his place.

Olle Lycksell Reassigned To AHL, Tyson Foerster Nearing Return

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The Philadelphia Flyers announced this morning that they’ve reassigned forward Olle Lycksell to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. The 24-year-old has been a healthy scratch for the Flyers in six of their seven games since the All-Star break as he has been primarily serving as a depth forward. He has dressed in five games this season at the NHL level and has a single assist while averaging a tick under 10 minutes of ice time per game.

At the AHL level, Lycksell has registered 16 goals and 12 assists in 33 games with Lehigh Valley and has been nearly a point-a-game player the last few seasons. His demotion could signal that Tyson Foerster is healthy and nearing a return to the lineup.

Foerster is practicing in a regular jersey today and reportedly could play tomorrow for Philadelphia against the New York Rangers. He was hurt blocking a shot in a game against the Seattle Kraken back on February 10th and has missed the last four games. The former first-round pick is having a decent offensive season with 10 goals and 11 assists in 52 games but came into the season with lofty expectations after posting seven points in eight NHL games last year.

Based on the line rushes in Flyers practice, it seems likely that Foerster will play alongside Ryan Poehling and Noah Cates on the Flyers’ third line.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Ryan Poehling To Two-Year Extension

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The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have signed forward Ryan Poehling to a two-year, $3.8MM contract extension. Poehling has appeared in 44 games with the Flyers this season, netting 14 points, six penalty minutes, and a -8.

Poehling is in his first year with the Flyers, moving away from the rival Pittsburgh Penguins. He’s earned a pay raise over the one-year, $1.4MM deal he’s on with Philadelphia, settling into a comfy role on the third-line and penalty kill. With this two-year extension, the 25-year-old will get his first chance to settle into a role since making his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens at the end of the 2018-19 season. He spent the next three seasons between Montreal’s NHL and AHL lineup – ultimately totaling 85 games and 22 points with the club. His year with Pittsburgh was his first spending an entire season with the NHL lineup. Poehling was part of a very strong late-first round in the 2017 NHL Draft, getting selected a few picks after Robert Thomas and Filip Chytil and just before Jake Oettinger and current teammate Morgan Frost.

Poehling signed his two-year extension on the same day that teammate Owen Tippett signed an eight-year extension with the Flyers. Tippett has become a favorite for Philadelphia’s top brass, largely thanks to the 18 goals and 30 points he has through 46 games this season. Tippett has become a force under head coach John Tortorella, scoring 27 goals and 49 points in 77 games last season and seemingly only getting better. It’s an exciting surge forward for the 24-year-old, who had yet to really get it going. Tippett was also a part of the 2017 Draft class, rounding out a top 10 that yielded Cale Makar and Elias Pettersson.

Kevin Kurz of The Athletic was the first to report the extension.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Montreal Canadiens

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Montreal Canadiens.

Who are the Canadiens thankful for?

Mike Matheson

Mike Matheson has had a tale of two careers.

He was good in his first few seasons in the NHL with the Florida Panthers, showcasing his terrific skating and his ability to carry the puck out of the defensive zone. But shortly after signing an eight-year extension the warts in his game began to show and he became a lightning rod for criticism in the Sunshine State.

It wasn’t long after that Matheson was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Colton Sceviour for Patric Hornqvist. Matheson was able to rehabilitate his game and looked like a good fit with the Penguins long-term. However, Penguins general manager Ron Hextall inexplicably wanted to change up the Penguins’ defense and in one day bulldozed his defense core by trading John Marino to New Jersey and Matheson to the Canadiens. Both trades have been a disaster for the Penguins, but the Matheson one stings for several reasons.

Since coming over to Montreal, the 29-year-old Matheson has dressed in 79 games, during that time he has 13 goals and 42 assists and has averaged almost 25 minutes a night in ice-time. He has been a catalyst for the Canadiens offense, and a mentor to many of Montreal’s young defensemen.

Although he has dealt with some injury issues, Matheson has been a driving force for the Canadiens and one that should continue to be an important piece for them in the coming seasons.

What are the Canadiens thankful for?

The Jeff Petry trades.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens made a trade back in July 2022 that sent defenseman Matheson to Pittsburgh in exchange for veteran defenseman Petry and Ryan Poehling. It was a questionable trade at the time for the Penguins as they were giving up a much younger defenseman for a 36-year-old defender with an inflated cap hit. A year after the deal, it’s safe to say that the trade was an absolute heist by the Canadiens. Jeff Petry has been traded twice since the original trade and Poehling was non-tendered and signed with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Petry was traded by the Penguins to the Canadiens this past August in a move that Pittsburgh had to make to facilitate the Erik Karlsson trade. The Penguins traded Petry, goalie Casey DeSmith, forward Nathan Legare and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick. Hoffman was then moved to the Sharks and Pitlick has toiled in the AHL.

The trade was a great move for Montreal to acquire two futures while unloading two bad contracts. But they weren’t done yet. The Canadiens then traded Petry to the Detroit Red Wings for little-used defenseman Gustav Lindstrom and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2025. Finally, Montreal was able to complete the trade tree by shipping DeSmith to the Vancouver Canucks for Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round pick.

When all was said and done, the Canadiens were able to turn Pitlick, Hoffman, and a retained salary on Petry into Legare, Pearson, Lindstrom, and three 2025 draft picks. It was a creative move by Montreal, that will help them continue to build up their farm system or allow them to acquire additional players should they be more of a contending team in 2025.

What would the Canadiens be even more thankful for?

A Josh Anderson resurgence.

Many critics panned the Canadiens’ trade for Anderson back in October 2020 and for good reason, the trade was followed by the announcement of a seven-year $38.5MM extension that seemed like a massive overpay. In hindsight, it probably was, given that Anderson is carrying a $5.5MM cap hit and hasn’t come close to the 47 points he put up during the 2018-19 season. Since joining Montreal, Anderson has topped out at 32 points (twice), but he did have 40 goals over the two seasons before the start of the 2023-24 season.

This year has seen Anderson struggle more than he has in previous seasons. Through 31 games, the 29-year-old has just four goals and five assists and has been a drag on almost everyone he has played with this season. It’s been a frustrating season for the Burlington, Ontario native, one that he has acknowledged publicly. Just two nights ago, Anderson had an incredible game against the New York Islanders in which he scored two goals and was named the first star of the game. Afterwards, during a post-game interview, Anderson was serenaded by the Canadiens faithful and seemed genuinely humbled by the applause. With any luck, Anderson can use the game to catapult himself back to the heights he experienced when he put up 27 goals with the Columbus Blue Jackets five years ago.

If he can get back to his game, it could go a long way to the Canadiens making an unlikely push for a playoff spot in the ultra-competitive Eastern Conference.

What should be on the Canadiens holiday wish list?

A goal-scoring forward.

The Canadiens forwards need to score more as they rank near the bottom of the NHL in goals and are currently on pace to not have a single 25-goal scorer. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki both registered 26 goals last year but have just eight each thus far through 31 games, while Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher are far removed from the back-to-back 30-goal seasons, they each enjoyed from 2017-2019.

The Canadiens need a game-breaker, which is much easier said than done. Most teams are looking for this type of scorer and they are almost impossible to acquire in today’s NHL. The Canadiens do have a surplus of young defensemen they could choose to trade from, but they would need to find a trading partner that is interested in trading away one of the most coveted pieces in today’s NHL.

The Canadiens have been patient with their rebuild and have made some savvy moves to acquire good young prospects and defensive depth. At some point in the near future, they are going to have to take a risk on an offensively gifted forward. Whether that happens via trade or free agency remains to be seen but they will need to acquire a forward that can put the puck in the net.

Evening Notes: Zadorov, Vlasic, Poehling

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Elliotte Friedman reported today that Vancouver Canucks recent trade acquisition Nikita Zadorov never received a formal contract extension offer from the Calgary Flames. Friedman went on to add that Calgary and Zadorov had different opinions on the length of a potential extension as the Flames wanted to be cautious while Zadorov was looking for long-term security.

It’s an understandable position from both sides given the circumstance they both find themselves in. Calgary has several undesirable long-term contracts on the books and was likely hesitant to add another one, while Zadorov has never had more than two years of security on a contract (outside of his ELD). The differences were too much for both sides to overcome which led to the Flames dealing the pending unrestricted free agent to Vancouver.

In other evening notes:

  • Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News is reporting that San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic is unlikely to be traded anytime soon. While that news isn’t surprising, the timing is interesting given that Vlasic was re-inserted into the Sharks lineup two nights ago after being a healthy scratch for a stretch. It seems that for the right price any contract in the NHL can be moved, however, there hasn’t been a contract situation quite like Vlasic’s. The 36-year-old has no points in 15 games this season and is playing under a $7MM cap hit for this season, and two more years after that. He has a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of three teams in which he would accept a trade. The other wrinkle in a potential trade is that if the Sharks were to retain salary, it would represent the final time they can do that until one of the current retained contracts expires.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced tonight that center Ryan Poehling would miss their game against the Arizona Coyotes due to an illness. No word yet on whether Poehling is expected to be out of Flyers lineup for any length of time. Poehling has already missed three games this season as a healthy scratch as the 24-year-old has struggled during his first season in Philadelphia. Poehling has had a far more advantageous deployment in Philadelphia than he did in Pittsburgh last year, but his analytics and defensive metrics aren’t what they were despite being given more offensive opportunities.

Red Wings Healthy Scratch Jeff Petry

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It’s been a strange 14 months for Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jeff Petry. The 35-year-old defenseman was traded in July 2022 by the Montreal Canadiens to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a package that included defenseman Mike Matheson and forward Ryan Poehling. Petry spent one uneven season with the Penguins only to be traded back to Montreal 13 months later in a salary dump as part of the Erik Karlsson trade. Petry was then flipped to the Red Wings for a fourth-round draft pick and Gustav Lindstrom.

Now, just two games into his time with Detroit, Petry already finds himself a healthy scratch as per the Red Wings X account. Petry was in the press box during the Red Wings 4-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight as Detroit dressed six defensemen and 12 forwards for the game.

The Red Wings traded very little to acquire Petry, but it is difficult to understand the logic of the move given how many other NHL veterans are currently signed to play on Detroit’s blue line. The Red Wings made several moves this summer to acquire veteran defensemen with Petry coming into the organization along with Justin Holl and Shayne Gostisbehere.

Petry was a bit of a wild card as he hasn’t been overly effective since the 2020-21 season when he was with the Canadiens and has been shuffled through multiple organizations in that time. Last year in Pittsburgh he wasn’t terrible, but he wasn’t particularly good either, which prompted the Penguins to make the Karlsson move to replace Petry and add more power to their offense.

In his first two games in Detroit, Petry has really struggled posting no points and a -2 while averaging 16:44 of ice time. A dramatic decline from the 22:14 he has averaged throughout his career. While his ice time is down substantially, his play hasn’t warranted additional ice time as he has found himself on the wrong side of puck possession more often than not in the first two games.

How Detroit handles their defense going forward could make for interesting theatre. Moritz Seider and Jake Walman aren’t coming out of the lineup for Petry and given their play as of late it seems unlikely that Olli Maatta or Gostisbehere are coming out of the lineup either. The likeliest candidate is Holl, but like Petry, he was just brought in this summer, and it wouldn’t be a great look to scratch him after a handful of games.

Detroit has alternated using six or seven defensemen this season and may continue to do so with the logjam in their defensive core. However, constantly sitting newly acquired veterans is often frowned upon and could lead to some bitter feelings among veterans.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Ryan Poehling, Rhett Gardner

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The Philadelphia Flyers have signed center Ryan Poehling to a one-year deal worth $1.4MM per season, reports Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek. They’ve also signed forward Rhett Gardner to a two-year, two-way $775k AAV deal.

For Poehling, this represents another change of scenery opportunity for the young forward. In 53 games played for the Penguins last year, he only managed seven goals and seven assists, not exactly great numbers for a former-25th overall selection. Unfortunately for Poehling, whether it be in Pittsburgh or with the Montreal Canadiens, no team has given him adequate ice time to grow. In Philadelphia, however, Poehling should get the chance to play in the 13-14 minute range on average, growing his offensive game under head coach John Tortorella.

The Gardner signing represents a good piece of organizational offensive depth if nothing else. Gardner hasn’t played much at the NHL level so far, only managing 40 total games in the last three seasons. At the AHL level, Gardner has been much better, scoring 10 goals and 30 assists for the Texas Stars, showing that he can hold his own at the minor league level. In Philadelphia, Gardner should be considered primarily an AHL player but may see a callup in case of an injury to the NHL roster.

Penguins Injury Notes: Petry, Bonino, Poehling

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For the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost the services of defenseman Jeff Petry. The 35-year-old played just three shifts in the first period before he exited the game after taking an elbow from Tyler Motte. Petry also exited Tuesday nights 6-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens with an apparent injury. Petry’s injury luck in the last two games has forced the Penguins defense to play shorthanded in back-to-back games, leaning heavily on Kris Letang who himself has dealt with a series of health issues this season.

If Petry is out for any length of time it would be likely that recent healthy scratch Chad Ruhwedel would draw back into the Penguins lineup. The Penguins do have Mark Friedman and Ty Smith stashed in the minors but would need to move Nick Bonino onto LTIR to call up either player. Ty Smith was quite good in limited NHL action earlier this season, however the young defenseman is still week-to-week with a facial fracture.

In other Penguins injury news:

  • Seth Rorabaugh is reporting that Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told tonight’s MSG broadcast that Pittsburgh expects center Nick Bonino to be back by the playoffs. Bonino was re-acquired on trade deadline day by the Penguins to center their fourth line but was only able to dress in a handful of games after spending most of the season with the San Jose Sharks. Jeff Carter has taken Bonino’s spot on the fourth line in recent games but has struggled mightily going -4 in just 8:28 of ice time on Tuesday against Montreal.
  • Ryan Poehling did return to action tonight after missing over a month with a lingering upper body injury. The young forward saw duty on the fourth line next to Jeff Carter and Josh Archibald. Poehling’s return could create an interesting situation on the Penguins fourth line should Jeff Carter continue to struggle. Poehling was centering the unit earlier in the season prior to the injury and showed good chemistry with Drew O’Connor and Danton Heinen.

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