It has been a strange year thus far for Flyers winger Cam Atkinson. Originally diagnosed as being out day-to-day with an upper-body injury in training camp, the 33-year-old has still yet to play this season. He was said to be nearing a return and has been participating in practices but CapFriendly noted last night (Twitter link) that the veteran has now been moved to injured reserve.
The placement stems from them needing a roster spot for Olle Lycksell who was recalled on Thursday. Originally, it was supposed to be Anthony DeAngelo ceding his spot as the defenseman was away from the team for personal reasons, allowing Philadelphia to designate him as non-roster status. However, Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that DeAngelo is back at practice today which takes that option off the table.
It’s possible that Atkinson might have suffered some kind of setback, one that is going to take at least a little bit of time to heal so they’ve opted to simply place him on IR until he’s cleared to return. Because he hasn’t played this season, Philadelphia is eligible to back-date the placement; accordingly, he’s eligible to be activated at any time. For a few weeks now, it looked like the 700-game veteran was just about ready to come back but now, that wait appears likely to be even longer.