Ryan Johansen’s career with the Philadelphia Flyers — all 0 games of it — appears to be over.
Tuesday, Philadelphia announced they were attempting to terminate the Flyers legend’s contract due to a material breach.
“The Philadelphia Flyers have placed forward Ryan Johansen on unconditional waivers today for the purpose of terminating his contract due to a material breach,” the team wrote on social media. “The Flyers will have no further comment at this time.”
The Philadelphia Flyers have placed forward Ryan Johansen on unconditional waivers today for the purpose of terminating his contract due to a material breach. pic.twitter.com/7P9aRhVIl2
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) August 20, 2024
Hockey insider Elliotte Friedman added on X that “Johansen is expected to grieve this termination; Flyers aren’t commenting, but have made it clear they will present their case if asked to do. So, while the contract may be terminated tomorrow, there is going to be a bit of a process here.”
Friedman added, “at issue is the injury that prevented Johansen from playing games for Philadelphi[a] after being traded from Colorado.”
Chris Johnston reports that Johansen will have 60 days to decide if he’d like to file a grievance via the NHLPA in hopes of negotiating a settlement with Philadelphia.
If the Flyers end up successfully freeing themselves of Johansen’s deal they’ll recoup $8 million on their salary cap a year early. Johansen has one season remaining on an eight-year, $64 million deal he originally signed with the Nashville Predators in July 2017.
The Flyers originally acquired the 32-year-old center in a trade deadline deal with the Colorado Avalanche on March 6. Philadelphia also got a protected first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft in exchange for defenseman Sean Walker and a fifth-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft. Taking on Johansen’s huge cap hit appeared to be a large part of the deal.
Johansen, the older brother of Hershey Bears’ two-time Calder Cup champion defenseman Lucas Johansen, tallied 13 goals and 10 assists in 63 games for the Avalanche last season.
Johansen spent the previous eight years with Nashville where he helped the team advance to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2017. Since scoring 63 points (26g, 37a) in 79 games for the Preds in 2021-22, the pivot’s production has fallen off a cliff, posting 28 and 23 points respectively in consecutive seasons.
Update 4 pm: In a statement to Friedman, Ryan Johansen’s agent Kurt Overhardt says that his client has a “severe hockey injury which requires extensive surgery.” The NHLPA added that “The Philadelphia Flyers’ actions raise significant concerns. We are currently reviewing the matter.”
Ryan Johansen’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, releases a statement.
This one will be grieved…we will see where it goes — settlement or no. Both agent and Flyers digging in hard https://t.co/Nz8Zw8MqxW
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) August 20, 2024
