The Philadelphia Flyers were already without Brian Elliott for some time as they headed into the trade deadline, and then were given some other bad news. Michal Neuvirth will be out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury, leading to the team’s acquisition of Petr Mrazek last night. Mrazek won’t start tonight for the Flyers, but should get an opportunity to prove himself as a true #1 goaltender once again.
Unfortunately, that’s not where the injuries end for Philadelphia. The team also announced that Wayne Simmonds would be out up to three weeks with an upper-body injury. Simmonds’ loss is perhaps even more troublesome than the goaltending issues, as the veteran winger is in the midst of another excellent season.
With 20 goals on the year, Simmonds extends his streak to five straight campaigns with at least that many, and had a good chance of cracking 50 points once again before the injury. The 29-year old winger is one of the league’s biggest bargains, carrying a cap hit of just less than $4MM. That contract extends for one more year, putting Simmonds on track to be part of the superclass of free agents in 2019. If the Flyers are to make the playoffs and cause any problems in the first round, they’ll need Simmonds at full strength.
Oskar Lindblom has been recalled by the team and could make his NHL debut tonight.