Flyers Reassign Oliver Bonk, Hunter McDonald, Carson Bjarnason
Feb. 19: The Flyers announced they’ve returned Bonk, McDonald, and goaltender Carson Bjarnason to Lehigh Valley today. They’ll get into AHL game action over the weekend after getting a day’s worth of NHL practice time.
Feb. 18: The Flyers have recalled defensemen Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald from AHL Lehigh Valley as expected, per a team announcement. They’ll get some practice reps in while Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen are still representing their countries at the Olympics.
While Bonk likely won’t be sticking around past the next week, it’s still a nice reward for Philly’s top-ranked defense prospect. Viewed as the only future top-four piece in their pipeline, the 21-year-old has had a trying first professional season. An upper-body injury sustained during rookie camp kept him out of the lineup until December. Since returning, he’s had two goals and six points with a -5 rating in 22 games for Lehigh Valley.
Bonk was the 22nd overall selection in 2023. He’s a two-time OHL champion with the London Knights and recorded 150 points in 189 career junior games with a +88 rating across four seasons. The early lack of offensive production in the AHL likely isn’t too concerning for the Flyers, who drafted the right-shot Bonk as more of a defensive-oriented two-way piece, but they’ll look to continue to grow his defensive game in the minors until likely giving him a more extended look on the roster in either 2026-27 or 2027-28.
McDonald, also a shutdown-type piece, got a brief recall in January while Rasmus Ristolainen was sidelined, but was scratched in three games before being returned to Lehigh Valley. The 23-year-old 6’4″ lefty has five assists and a +9 rating in 40 games for the Phantoms this year.
East Notes: Penguins, Laine, Flyers
As teams return to practice today, some without notable members still competing in the Olympics, several updates have emerged. In Pittsburgh, Kris Letang told the media, including Michelle Crechiolo, Penguins team reporter, that he is nearing 100% from his lower body injury. It’s expected that he’ll be ready for February 26 against the Devils, but not yet certain.
The 38-year-old had to miss the club’s last four games going into the Olympic break. Letang had a rough start to his 20th season with Pittsburgh, leading to questions on his outlook. Since then, the stalwart has still played heavy minutes, 22:06 a night, just behind Erik Karlsson. His 50.5% corsi at even strength is a slight improvement from last season, but still a step below the norm. Currently +3 with 25 points in 50 games, Letang has turned the corner from last season’s -15, 30 point output.
Symbolic of the team’s rebound as a whole, Letang’s Penguins are closing in on ending their three year postseason drought, as they have the opportunity to go on what could be one last dance as an unforgettable era winds down.
Also in Pittsburgh, Filip Hallander returned to practice, as reported by Crechiolo. The forward hasn’t played since November, missing 42 games from a blood clot in his leg. At 25 years old, the former second round pick is just getting off the ground in his NHL career, with all four of his career points coming this season. The timing of his ailment was especially unfortunate, costing him a chance to play in his native Sweden in the Global Series.
Elsewhere across the conference:
- Canadiens winger Patrik Laine missed today’s practice due to a lower body injury, per the team. He is still working his way back from core muscle surgery, not having played since October. Noted as a likely trade candidate last week, Laine’s days in Montreal seem to be nearing an end, although his $8.7MM price tag will be difficult to work through. The 27-year-old former 40 goal scorer will be an intriguing free agent this summer, but unfortunately his health is a major factor. Laine hasn’t dressed in more than 68 games in a campaign since 2018-19. His Habs return to action February 26 against the Islanders.
- Along with goaltender Carson Bjarnason, who was recalled earlier today, Flyers prospects Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald will join the team for practice this week, according to Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Bonk, a first round selection in 2023, made a case to make the team right out of the OHL but was injured in camp. Finally activated in early December, he has just six points in 22 games, indicative that seasoning is needed for the team’s top blueliner prospect, who has second pairing potential. On the other hand, McDonald, a former sixth round pick, has a more limited upside at the highest level but at 6’4” he brings serious physicality. Both defenseman are awaiting their NHL debut.
Flyers Recall Carson Bjarnason
The Flyers announced they’ve recalled goaltender Carson Bjarnason from AHL Lehigh Valley. He’ll complement Samuel Ersson in practice for the next few days until Team Czechia’s time at the Winter Olympics is over, allowing Daniel Vladař to return to Philadelphia.
Bjarnason, 20, is viewed by many as the Flyers’ goalie of the future alongside fellow 2023 draftee Yegor Zavragin. Zavragin is viewed by prospect evaluators as the higher-ceiling netminder, but most of his development in Russia will be inaccessible to stateside fans. Bjarnason, a more liquid asset, was tabbed as the No. 12 prospect in Philadelphia’s system last summer by Corey Pronman of The Athletic. Perhaps his performance this season has dampened expectations, though.
A first-year pro, Bjarnason has struggled to the tune of a .889 SV% and a 3.08 GAA in 22 games with Lehigh Valley. It’s worth noting that jumping from juniors straight to the AHL is a far rarer path for goalies than it is for skaters, though. Most netminders will get at least one year of full-time seasoning in the ECHL – even first-round picks like the Red Wings’ Sebastian Cossa, for a recent example – before making the jump to the AHL, so it’s wise to take Bjarnason’s numbers with a grain of salt.
That said, the 6’4″, 207-lb netminder has still managed a winning record in Lehigh Valley at 11-7-5. He won’t be getting any recalls resulting in game action anytime soon, but next year will be a pivotal one to see if he can take the next step up the ladder into being a viable AHL starter.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare To Retire
After 10 NHL seasons and parts of another 14 seasons in pro leagues in Europe, Pierre-Édouard Bellemare is retiring. The French national team captain, whose first Olympic appearance came to an end this morning with a quarterfinal loss to Germany, told reporters postgame that “this is it” for his international career, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Bellemare, 40, last played in the NHL with the Kraken in 2023-24. He’s spent the last two seasons with HC Ajoie in Switzerland, playing a pivotal role in helping them avoid relegation to the second-division Swiss League last year. His offensive production is greatly diminished this season, with just one goal and 10 points in 32 National League games, and he has a -15 rating. With only five regular-season games left on Ajoie’s schedule this year and locked into last place in the league, it’s unclear whether Bellemare plans to return to the team after his Olympic performance or make a clean break now.
Bellemare’s pro career began in 2002-03, as a 17-year-old with Rouen in France’s top league, then called the Super 16. He became one of the league’s top producers over the next few years, making his first appearance on the national senior team at the 2004 World Championship, but didn’t attract any NHL interest. He made the jump to a more competitive circuit with Sweden’s Leksands IF in 2006, playing in the second-division HockeyAllsvenskan. He spent three years there, leading the league in goals in 2008-09, before making another jump to Sweden’s top flight with Skellefteå.
Only after another five seasons with Skellefteå, where he won two SHL championships and was arguably the league’s top defensive forward, did Bellemare finally land an NHL contract. In 2014, he landed a two-way deal with the Flyers and, at age 29, immediately became a fourth-line, penalty-killing fixture in Philadelphia. He was never the offensive threat he was in Sweden, averaging just six goals and 12 points per 82 games, but rarely missed time and even garnered some outside Selke Trophy consideration by his third year in Philly.
Bellemare was ticketed to become an unrestricted free agent in 2017. The Flyers tried to avoid that by signing him to a two-year, $2.9MM extension in March, but they left him unprotected in that year’s expansion draft, and the Golden Knights picked him up. He wasn’t one of the many assets Vegas flipped following the draft, instead staying with the club through its storybook inaugural season in a familiar role as their fourth-line center. He hit double-digit assists in the regular season for the first of three times he’d do so in his career, before adding three points and a +6 rating in 20 playoff games in Vegas’ miracle run to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.
A free agent again in 2019, Bellemare would spend the rest of his career on short-term deals. He first signed a two-year pact with the Avalanche, where he hit a career-high 22 points in 69 games in his first year, before landing another two-year deal with the Lightning on the heels of their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. He made it back to the Final with the Bolts in 2022, only to lose to his old teammates in Colorado. After being limited to 13 points and a career-worst -9 rating in 73 games for Tampa in 2022-23, he hit the open market again and signed a league-minimum contract in Seattle.
Only in Bellemare’s last year in the league did he fall out of regular usage. He served as more of a 13th/14th forward for the Kraken than a fourth-line fixture, only suiting up 40 times while averaging 9:50 of ice time per game. After notching four goals and seven points for Seattle, he made it clear he wanted to extend his NHL career for at least one more season. With no guaranteed offers, he returned to the Avs on a professional tryout, but was released late in training camp. He then headed to Switzerland, where he had 10 goals and 28 points in 34 games for Ajoie last season before his age finally seemed to catch up with him in 2025-26.
While Bellemare’s offensive utility was limited, he’s arguably one of the most durable pros of his generation and is, by all accounts, an incredibly well-liked teammate. He also developed into a legitimate asset in the faceoff dot after a rough start to his career in that regard in Philly. From 2017 onward, Bellemare won 53.4% of his draws in over 4,500 attempts. His ability to stay in the lineup also provided incredible peace of mind for lineup cards. From 2014 to 2023, only 34 players logged more appearances than Bellemare’s 660.
Bellemare finishes his career with 138 points and a +22 rating in 700 games. He nearly broke even in shot attempts at even strength – an impressive feat for a defensive specialist – and also averaged 72 hits per 82 games. He garnered an estimated $11.3MM in career earnings, per PuckPedia. All of us at PHR congratulate Bellemare on an excellent career and wish him all the best in retirement.
Image courtesy of Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images.
Trade Deadline Primer: Philadelphia Flyers
With the Olympic break upon us, the trade deadline is under a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league at teams on the playoff bubble, next up: the Flyers.
For the second consecutive season, the Philadelphia Flyers are a team on the bubble with the odds not in their favor. Based on points percentage, the team has taken a step back from last year’s results before their infamous late-season collapse. Furthermore, second-year winger Matvei Michkov has taken a significant step back. This season, Philadelphia’s prize prospect has scored 13 goals and 29 points in 55 games, averaging 14:34 of ice time per game. Michkov had scored 16 goals and 36 points while managing a 16:01 ATOI at this point last season. If the Flyers have any chance of future success, they’ll want to prioritize getting Michkov back on track.
Record
25-20-11, 6th in the Metropolitan (10.7% playoff probability)
Deadline Status
Short-term sellers/long-term buyers
Deadline Cap Space
$32.38MM on deadline day, 2/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: PHI 1st, PHI 2nd, PHI 3rd, CBJ 6th, PHI 7th
2027: PHI 1st, TOR 1st, PHI 2nd, LA 3rd, PHI 3rd, PHI 4th, PHI 5th, PHI 7th
Trade Chips
Given their spot in the standings, it’s assumed that the Flyers will sell off expiring assets such as Carl Grundstrom, Nicolas Deslauriers, Rodrigo Abols, and Noah Juulsen. Philadelphia shouldn’t expect to recoup major assets for the group, though they should have a market for playoff-bound teams looking for depth.
Still, although they are only a few years into their rebuild, the Flyers aren’t necessarily out of the fight in the Metropolitan Division. It would take a significant performance increase to reach the postseason this year, but given the team’s structure, competing next year shouldn’t be out of the question. If any younger players become available, especially those that are already at the NHL level, Philadelphia should be on the phone.
Depending on what they’re looking to add, Philadelphia has a couple of assets they could move. If rival General Managers believe that the post-Mitch Marner Toronto Maple Leafs will continue their downward trend, Toronto’s upcoming 2027 first-round selection could be very enticing to rebuilding teams. The Flyers likely aren’t in a position to move too much of their prospect capital, though they do have a glut of wingers.
Porter Martone, Alex Bump, and Denver Barkey should all be considered untouchables at this point, but would the Flyers be interested in moving recent second-round pick, Jack Murtagh? He’s had a disappointing start to his collegiate career, scoring four goals and seven points in 28 games. Still, he has retained the intangibles that made him a top-64 selection in the first place, and he may be on the outside looking in for top-six Philadelphia wingers for the years to come.
Team Needs
Goaltending Depth: The Flyers have gotten great starts from newcomer Daniel Vladař, who owns a 17-8-6 record in 33 games with a .905 SV% and 2.47 GAA. Still, their options behind him have been nearly unplayable, with typical backup Samuel Ersson carrying an 8-10-5 record with a .856 SV% and 3.51. Philadelphia has Russian prospect Yegor Zavragin waiting in the wings, but at only 20-years-old, he’s likely a few years away.
Young Defenseman: This is where Philadelphia could really make some noise at the trade deadline, if they choose to. Outside of Cameron York and Jamie Drysdale, the Flyers don’t have much in the way of up-and-coming top-four defenseman. Yes, Travis Sanheim has proven capable of leading the blueline, but he’ll be in his 30s next season. Given that reality, if the Buffalo Sabres make Owen Power available, the Flyers could offer a package including Toronto’s first-round pick, a middle-six forward like Bobby Brink, and potentially one of their depth defensemen to start. Even though he isn’t a recent first overall pick like Power, younger defensemen such as Pavel Mintyukov have a lot of upside, but their value may be lower at the deadline.
Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
While Selling Is Logical For Flyers, It Could Still Be A Quiet Deadline
Flyers executives have said before that the team will ultimately decide whether they buy or sell heading into next month’s trade deadline. Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines their situation, suggesting that while they might not want to throw in the towel on the season just yet, selling is the logical route for them to take. Philadelphia sits eight points out of a playoff spot with a team in the bottom ten in offense so the odds of a successful playoff push are low. On the other hand, their list of pending unrestricted free agents isn’t exactly the most appealing, headlined by veteran wingers Carl Grundstrom and Nicolas Deslauriers. Accordingly, even if they do opt to sell, it could be a fairly quiet deadline unless they want to move players signed beyond the upcoming season.
Flyers’ Ty Murchison Expected To Be Out For Season With Injury
The Philadelphia Flyers will lose a strong call-up option for the rest of the year. Defenseman Ty Murchison, who made his NHL debut in December, has sustained an upper-body injury and isn’t expected to return this season per Lehigh Valley Phantoms broadcaster Bob Rotruck. Murchison sustained the injury during Lehigh Valley’s January 11th loss to the Providence Bruins. He has missed eight games since.
Murchison was having a succesful start to his pro career. The AHL rookie only had six points in 29 games – but his 46 penalty minutes ranked third on Lehigh Valley, and his staunch defense earned him a call-up to the NHL while Philadelphia adjusted to blue-line injuries. Murchison went on to play in three games with the Flyers, netting no scoring and a plus-one. He earned incremently more ice time over those three games, before being reassigned.
Murchison brings an physical, defense-first presence that proved quickly valuable in Lehigh Valley. That continues the pattern of hard-earned hockey that followed Murchison through four years at Arizona State University. He only scored 23 points in 145 games with the Sun Devils – but, again, his propensity for hard-hitting hockey proved intimidating at the college flight.
The 23-year-old Murchison seems well set to vie for a bottom-pair role in Philadelphia one day. He could have even earned that role at the tail-end of this season, after Philadelphia traded Egor Zamula following Murchison’s NHL debut. Now, it seems he’ll have to wait for a smooth recovery next season before he rejoins the fight for NHL minutes.
Flyers Reassign Aleksei Kolosov
Feb. 6th: The Flyers reassigned Kolosov back to AHL Lehigh Valley today, now that the Olympic break has begun The move should provide him much-needed some stability in terms of where he’ll play, seeing as the Flyers are not set to return to the ice until Feb. 25.
Feb. 2nd: Philadelphia will remain without Ersson at least through tomorrow’s contest. For the second time in three days, the Flyers have recalled Kolosov from AHL Lehigh Valley. He played in the Phantoms game last night, producing a .777 SV% on 27 shots.
Feb. 1st: The Flyers announced today that Kolosov has been reassigned to AHL Lehigh Valley. The transaction indicates that Ersson is likely going to be able to dress for the Flyers’ game on Tuesday against the Washington Capitals.
Jan. 31st: With Samuel Ersson exiting Thursday’s game due to a lower-body injury, the Flyers needed some goaltending insurance for their game today against Los Angeles. As expected, that insurance is Aleksei Kolosov as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been recalled from AHL Lehigh Valley. To make room on the roster, center Lane Pederson was sent down to the Phantoms.
Kolosov was sent down back on Wednesday when Daniel Vladar returned from injury. He suited up last night against Springfield, making him recall-eligible once again. The 24-year-old is now in his fourth stint with Philadelphia but it hasn’t resulted in much playing time. He has just four appearances with the Flyers this season, two of which came in relief and has struggled in that small sample size, allowing eight goals on just 47 shots.
The fact that Ersson wasn’t placed on injured reserve suggests that the team doesn’t believe his injury is likely to keep him out for long. Accordingly, this NHL stint for Kolosov could ultimately be short-lived.
As for Pederson, he got his first recall of the season a little under two weeks ago and had played fairly regularly since then, getting into five of six games. It was his first action at the top level since 2023 with Columbus. The 28-year-old was held off the scoresheet in those outings while averaging just under nine minutes per night. Pederson has played in 37 games with Lehigh Valley this season, picking up 13 goals and 15 assists.
Flyers Could Explore Trade Options For Samuel Ersson
At one point this season, it looked as though the Philadelphia Flyers might be buyers, not sellers, in the lead-up to the 2026 NHL trade deadline. First-year head coach Rick Tocchet had the club primed to make a run to the playoffs, a clear step forward in the team’s retooling process.
Those Flyers look like a distant memory at this point, though, as the team has lost three consecutive games and endured a 2-7-1 stretch in its last 10 contests. They currently sit 10 points behind the Boston Bruins for the Eastern Conference’s final wild card spot, and eight points behind the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Flyers’ downturn has shifted the focus on the team heading into the trade deadline. Instead of identifying potential targets around the league the team might add, the Flyers now look more like a team that will subtract from its roster, rather than add. Last week, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported the Flyers were likely to have a “quiet deadline” unless a potential core player, perhaps at their key position of need, center, becomes available.
One name the Flyers could end up moving on from is netminder Samuel Ersson. Kurz wrote regarding Ersson that it “feels like it’s time for a change of scenery” for the player and club. There don’t appear to be a large number of goalies available for trade at this time, and the key name on the market, Jesper Wallstedt of the Minnesota Wild, figures to have a significant price tag attached.
For most teams, acquiring Ersson is a far more realistic possibility than shelling out high-end assets to land Wallstedt. Of course, Ersson isn’t of the same caliber of talent as Wallstedt, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have what it takes to help an NHL team.
The 26-year-old has been relied upon heavily by the Flyers over the course of the last few years.
The Swedish netminder played in 51 games in 2023-24, earning the vast majority of starts after the team’s No. 1 netminder, Carter Hart, became unavailable in the middle of the year.
He struggled at times, and his final save percentage of .890 certainly isn’t strong, but there were moments in the season where he showed the kind of talent that gave the Flyers faith brighter days could be ahead.
The following season, Philadelphia again trusted Ersson to be their leading man in the crease, as he played in 47 NHL games, the most of any netminder in the organization. Once again, Ersson showed flashes, but those quality starts began to become more infrequent. His final statistics regressed even further, as he finished with an .883 save percentage, and was one of the league’s weakest goalies in several metrics.
The Flyers signed Dan Vladar to stabilize their goaltending this past summer, and Vladar has validated their investment with a strong 2025-26 campaign. But while Vladar has stood out this year, Ersson’s struggles have persisted. Through 24 games this year, he has just an .856 save percentage, the lowest among netminders with at least 15 games played in 2025-26.
It’s fair to question, given his poor numbers and highly inconsistent performance over the last few years, whether other NHL teams would truly be interested in adding Ersson. But the netminder is a pending arbitration-eligible RFA with a cap hit of just $1.45MM.
He’s likely to be one of the more experienced netminders readily available for trade at this point in the season, and can likely be acquired for a relatively low cost.
If a team is confident in its goaltending department, and believes it can maximize Ersson’s talent in a way the Flyers have thus far been unable to, he could end up on the move.
Ersson could also be a fit for a team looking to simply enhance its depth at the position, especially if an injury strikes. If a team in the playoff race loses a netminder to injury at some point between now and the trade deadline, Ersson’s name will be one to watch.
Photos courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Lower-Body Injury For Ristolainen Against Columbus
- The Flyers announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen left tonight’s game against Columbus due to a lower-body injury. He played 1:01 over two shifts before exiting. The 31-year-old missed more than two months to start the season due to a triceps injury, then missed six more this month to an upper-body issue, one that he just returned from on Monday. Ristolainen has been limited to just three assists and 25 blocks in 15 games when he has been in the lineup. Notably, he’s set to play for Finland in the Olympics so if this injury is set to keep him out for more than a couple of weeks, that could cause him to miss the event.