There is a chance we never see Ryan Ellis on the ice at an NHL hockey game again. Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher met with the media today and explained to reporters including Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic that there is no timetable for Ellis’ return and that it would be a “bonus” if he played at all this season. Though he can’t say now, Fletcher explained that there is a possibility Ellis’ career is threatened by this injury, which he described as “multi-layered.”
Clarity on what Ellis’ injury actually is has been hard to come by, but Fletcher indicated today that it includes a torn psoas and issues with his hip and adductor muscle. He missed all but four games last season – the first four he had ever played outside of the Nashville Predators organization.
Acquired for Nolan Patrick (who also may not play this season) and Philippe Myers, Ellis was supposed to reshape the Flyers’ defense and give Ivan Provorov or Travis Sanheim a long-term partner. The 31-year-old is signed through the 2026-27 season and carries a $6.25MM cap hit, making him the second highest-paid defenseman on the Flyers roster.
It appears that contract will live on long-term injured reserve for a while.
Sean Couturier, meanwhile, hasn’t been ruled out for the entire season so far, though he is getting a second opinion this morning and has not been cleared to play at this point. Fletcher called it premature to speculate about his season-long outlook or even his career, despite this being his second back injury in 12 months.
Just think, If they’d been able to put Ellis and Couturier on LTIR a few months ago, they’d have had the cap space to sign Gaudreau..
still not a playoff team
Bad for Bedard that is the motto!!!
Crap the bed hard for Bedard
@JD – Nailed it both times! They’ll have to put the bed in the ocean and light it on fire. The curse can’t be fixed by mere fire, though. ;)
Still not a relevant comment.
The Flyers are cursed
Seriously this sucks for not only Ellis, but the team and fans. Such bad luck with Nolan Patrick, and Couts recently, and now Ellis.
Torts is gonna have to make chicken salad….
I didn’t even know I had a psoas in my body. :0
One of Poile’s best trades ever.