Ryan Johansen’s Contract Termination by Flyers

In a surprising turn of events, the Philadelphia Flyers have placed forward Ryan Johansen on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract. This decision comes after the team announced it was due to a “material breach.” The Flyers have decided not to comment further on the matter for now.

Johansen, who is 32 years old, never got the chance to play for the Flyers after being traded from Colorado on March 6. The trade included sending a defenseman and a future fifth-round draft pick to the Avalanche, with Philly receiving a conditional first-round pick in 2025 in return.

Initially, the Flyers waived Johansen on the very day he was traded, hoping to send him to the American Hockey League. However, that plan fell through because of an injury. General manager Danny Briere spoke about this unusual situation in an interview about a week after the trade, explaining how the team was caught off guard by Johansen’s hip injury.

Briere mentioned, “He claimed to be injured when we traded for him, so we had him see the doctors. They found an injury, so now he’s going to be rehabbing.” Unfortunately, unable to send him down while he’s injured, Johansen has been focusing on his rehab ever since.

This season, Johansen was set to make an $8 million salary cap hit before becoming an unrestricted free agent. He had a decent performance last year with Colorado, racking up 23 points in 63 games. All in all, he has played 905 career games, scoring 202 goals and 376 assists after being drafted fourth overall by Columbus in 2010.

Now with his contract terminated, Johansen has 60 days to decide if he wants to file a grievance over this issue with the NHL Players Association. Reports suggest that he is likely to pursue this option.