James van Riemsdyk’s latest tenure with the Philadelphia Flyers isn’t off to a good start, as the team announced today that the forward will miss the next five to six weeks with a lower-body injury. The injury was sustained in the Flyers’ recent game against the Colorado Avalanche.
The return of van Riemsdyk to Philadelphia, where he was drafted 11 years ago was supposed to be a triumphant one after six excellent seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 29-year old winger registered 154 goals during his time in Toronto, including 36 last season. A dominant presence within five feet of the net, van Riemsdyk can provide the Flyers with a different offensive weapon to support the other superstars up front. Unfortunately the team will now have to wait quite a while to see his first goal back in a Philadelphia uniform, as five weeks takes them into the middle of November.
Philadelphia is off to a 1-1 start this season after a pair of 5-2 games and will welcome the San Jose Sharks in on Tuesday to continue their season. After an impressive year in 2017-18, Claude Giroux will be looking to lead them back to the playoffs and perhaps a Metropolitan Division crown. Their big offseason addition won’t be able to help for now, but hopefully van Riemsdyk can return to full health this season and contribute towards those goals.
I blame Gritty!