- While much of the focus today was on the news that Kevin Hayes re-injured himself and is out week-to-week, there were some other updates out of the Philadelphia Flyers organization. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Wade Allison has resumed skating and has been cleared for practice with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Unfortunately, Tyson Foerster could miss five months with a shoulder injury. Foerster, a 2020 first-round pick, is one of the handful of junior-aged players that secured an exemption to play in the AHL this season because of their games in 2020-21.
Flyers Rumors
Kevin Hayes Out Week-To-Week
After just two games, Kevin Hayes is back on the shelf for the Philadelphia Flyers. The big forward is out on a week-to-week basis after suffering a re-injury against the Calgary Flames. He scored his lone goal of the season in that game, an emotional moment for the forward that has had an incredibly difficult few months.
Hayes had two abdominal surgeries this offseason, first in June and then again in September. That kept him on long-term injured reserve to start the year, but he was activated on November 13 to play against the Dallas Stars. In both of his two appearances, he didn’t even play 15 minutes of ice time as the team eased him back into the lineup, but that strategy appeared to have failed. Hayes will now exit a Flyers lineup that can’t seem to get healthy.
He’ll now stay in Tampa to get treatment for a few days, according to head coach Alain Vigneault, but it’s not clear when Hayes will be back for the Flyers. The team is already dealing with a similar issue for Ryan Ellis, who has suffered setbacks in his own injury troubles this season. Philadelphia has lost two in a row and now sits at 8-5-3 on the year as they try to hang onto the Metropolitan Division playoff race. The top three teams are beginning to pull away, with the New York Rangers now six points ahead of the Flyers for third.
Patrick Brown Determining Options For Dislocated Thumb
- Newly claimed Philadelphia Flyers forward Patrick Brown didn’t get much of a chance to show what he can do with the team before suffering a dislocated thumb earlier in the month. Listed as week-to-week, Brown is now deciding between rehab or surgery for the thumb, per head coach Alain Vigneault. The 29-year-old Brown had gotten into just six games with Philadelphia, notching one assist while playing 9:18 per game. It’s a hit for a team that’s seen a lot of turnover in its bottom six in this short season, gaining Zack MacEwen but losing Nicolas Aube-Kubel to waivers.
Injury Notes: Hayes, Golden Knights, Carrier
Center Kevin Hayes didn’t take warmups and isn’t playing for the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, as originally reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi. Head coach Alain Vigneault originally expected Hayes to play and he nor the team have yet to offer an update on Hayes’ absence. Max Willman was recalled from Lehigh Valley today under emergency conditions and is in the lineup for that game. Hayes has two points in two games this season after missing the team’s first 12 games while recovering from offseason core muscle surgery.
More injury notes from around the NHL:
- The injury parade continues for the Vegas Golden Knights, as The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reports defenseman Shea Theodore is unlikely to suit up for Thursday’s contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Theodore fell awkwardly during the Knights’ last game Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, a 4-2 loss. The team hasn’t moved Theodore to injured reserve, but he joins Alec Martinez on the list of Golden Knights defensemen absent from the lineup. However, Granger notes that Zach Whitecloud is “progressing quickly” and could potentially suit up for the Detroit game.
- Per Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes, defenseman Alexandre Carrier could return to the team’s lineup Saturday versus the Montreal Canadiens. Carrier isn’t on injured reserve, but he’s been out of the lineup for the past week with an undisclosed injury. In 13 games this season, the 25-year-old has five points while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game.
Ryan Ellis Out 4-6 Weeks
Nov 18: Vigneault gave an updated timeline for Ellis today, telling reporters including Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the defenseman will miss four to six weeks. The plan right now is rehab, not surgery.
Nov 15: The Philadelphia Flyers got Ryan Ellis back for less than 19 minutes of ice time. The veteran defenseman re-injured himself in Saturday’s game and is now out week-to-week, according to head coach Alain Vigneault.
It’s a brutal setback for one of the Flyers’ big offseason acquisitions, who has played extremely well whenever he’s been healthy enough to do so. Ellis has five points in four games on the year but now faces another uncertain timeline for his return. The team has had a very up-and-down season so far, with a 7-4-2 record through 13 games. They’ve looked both like a tight-checking contender (with strong goaltending to boot) and a disorganized mess at times, flip-flopping through performances like the ones they had at Carolina and Dallas the last two games. Losing Ellis, who was expected to step into a huge role on the back end, means that there will be more shuffling to try and figure out the best lineup moving forward.
Not only is this a concern for this season, but Ellis has certainly not been a model of health over the last several seasons. In 2017-18 he missed half the year following knee surgery, in 2019-20 he spent nearly two months on injured reserve after suffering a concussion in the Winter Classic, and last season played just 35 games after shattering his knuckle. While those are obviously very separate incidents, it’s been a tough go for the 30-year-old defenseman.
When the Flyers acquired him, Ellis was seen as a potential fixture on the blueline for the next half-decade. His contract, which carries a $6.25MM cap hit, extends through 2026-27. A supremely talented two-way defender, the Flyers will have to hope he can get back on the ice in the coming weeks to start paying dividends on that deal.
Minor Transactions: 11/14/21
There’s a six-game slate in the NHL tonight on this Hall of Fame weekend, but transaction action keeps rolling along at lower levels of the game as well. As COVID rears its ugly head again, affecting the rosters of multiple teams this season, teams in the AHL and ECHL have had to adjust their rosters as they lose players to their NHL affiliates. Keep track of today’s minor transactions right here.
- As the Ottawa Senators deal with the NHL’s worst COVID outbreak this season, the AHL’s Belleville Senators made a minor trade yesterday, acquiring forward Chris Wilkie from the Rockford IceHogs in exchange for future considerations. Wilkie, a product of Colorado College, was originally a sixth-round draft pick of the Florida Panthers back in 2015. This is his second professional season, and he notched a goal and assist in his Belleville debut yesterday.
- Defenseman Alec Rauhauser was returned to the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits today after being loaned to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. Rauhauser, an undrafted free agent, spent last season in the Florida Panthers organization after four seasons at Bowling Green State University. He made his AHL debut in one game with the Syracuse Crunch but spent the majority of the season in Greenville. In 52 games over two seasons, Rauhauser has 13 ECHL points.
- The AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms recalled forward Charlie Gerard from the ECHL’s Reading Royals today. Gerard is in his second professional season after a four-year run at Minnesota State University-Mankato and showed promise last season with 34 points in 49 games in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies. Now with the Phantoms on a professional contract, he’ll get his chance to show what he can do within the Flyers organization.
AHL Shuffle: 11/14/21
A busy weekend in the NHL continues today. After 26 teams took the ice on Saturday, 12 will suit up on Sunday, including eight teams playing back-to-back. As a result, a number of teams could be looking to make changes on the fly today. On the other hand, with only two games on the docket on Monday, other teams could be using the time off to tweak their roster (and manage their salary cap). Keep up with all of the action right here:
Atlantic Division
- The Ottawa Senators had recalled unheralded defenseman Maxence Guenette from AHL Belleville on Saturday to assist with the injury crisis on their blue line, but with Artem Zub able to play Guenette was shortly re-assigned. Apparently, the team still has some concerns as Guenette is headed back to Ottawa today, the team announced. If Guenette plays on Sunday, it will be the NHL debut for the 2019 seventh-round pick.
Metropolitan Division
- Frequent Flyer Nick Seeler is taking a departure flight down to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the team announced. Seeler has been back and forth all season, but has actually not seen any AHL action yet. The veteran defenseman has played in 11 games with Philadelphia, but has been held scoreless in a limited role.
- As expected, the Pittsburgh Penguins have activated Sidney Crosby, Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson, and Chad Ruhwedel. In order to clear the space for these additions, Drew O’Connor, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Juuso Riikola, and Louis Domingue have all been reassigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, per the Pittsburgh Tribune’s Seth Rorabaugh. It’s a bittersweet swap for the Penguins, who undoubtedly get better but at the cost of exciting young pieces in O’Connor and Joseph.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets recalled Justin Danforth from the Cleveland Monsters Sunday afternoon, per a team release. Danforth, who was signed to a one-year, one-way contract this offseason, could make his NHL debut with Columbus after potting five points in eight AHL games to start the season. The 28-year-old Oshawa, Ontario, native has been one of the world’s best scoring forwards outside of the NHL in the past few seasons with a trio of strong performances in the Liiga and KHL.
Central Division
Pacific Division
- Without a game until Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings have sent some of their bottom of the lineup players down to the minors. The team has announced that forward T.J. Tynan and defensemen Kale Clague and Austin Strand have been reassigned to the AHL’s Ontario Reign. While Clague has played in eight games with L.A. so far this season, Strand and Tynan have just two games between them and could be in for a longer stay in the AHL.
- After clearing waivers, Riley Sheahan has been assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, the Seattle Kraken announced. Sheahan was one of the few expendable players left on a Seattle roster that still faces a roster crunch with a number of valuable players – though that value has not produced many wins thus far.
- To make room for Tyler Motte who was activated off injured reserve, the Vancouver Canucks announced that they’ve sent defenseman Jack Rathbone to the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL. Rathbone has played in nine games for Vancouver this season, averaging just under 14 minutes per game.
Kevin Hayes Activated From Injured Reserve
The Philadelphia Flyers are getting back a huge piece of their lineup, activating Kevin Hayes off injured reserve. To make room on the roster, the team has loaned Nick Seeler to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. They also lost Nicolas Aube-Kubel on waivers today when the Colorado Avalanche claimed him. Ryan Ellis is also expected to return to the lineup tonight for the Flyers as they approach full strength.
In June, Hayes, 29, underwent core muscle surgery and was originally given a six-to-eight week timeline for recovery. That would have put him well ahead of schedule for the start of the season, but in September he was back under the knife for another abdominal procedure. Now trying to jump on a moving train, the Flyers will have to hope Hayes can get up to speed quickly and get back to his productive self.
After signing a massive seven-year, $50MM contract with the Flyers in 2019, Hayes registered 23 goals and 41 games in 69 games, adding a considerable presence with the man-advantage and shorthanded. Last season those numbers dropped to 12 goals and 31 points in 55 games, but he was still as important as ever to the Philadelphia attack. Now, after several major roster changes in the offseason, the Flyers are 7-3-2 and in the thick of the Metropolitan Division playoff race.
Even if you aren’t a Philadelphia fan, it’s hard not to root for Hayes’ success this season. Not only did he deal with multiple offseason surgeries, but also the tragic loss of his brother, former NHL forward Jimmy Hayes. A return to the ice will certainly be an emotional experience for the veteran center, and one that will have a little more impact on hockey fans all over the world.
Colorado Claims Nicolas Aube-Kubel Off Waivers
The Avalanche have added some forward depth up front as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel off waivers from Philadelphia.
The 25-year-old has had a limited role for the Flyers this season, suiting in seven games, logging just under 10 minutes per contest. He has just a single assist to show for it although he has chipped in with his usual physicality, recording 17 hits. Aube-Kubel has shown some upside in the past, recording 15 points in 36 games during the 2019-20 season and Colorado is clearly hoping that they can help him rediscover that offensive touch.
Interestingly enough, Aube-Kubel was on Philadelphia’s protected list for Seattle’s expansion draft so his stock inside the organization has certainly dipped in recent months. He’s in the second and final season of a contract that carries a $1.075MM AAV and Colorado can retain him as a restricted free agent this summer if they tender him a $1.225MM qualifying offer.
Seravalli adds that a handful of teams were poking around on Aube-Kubel since he was put on waivers so it’s quite possible that the Avs weren’t the only team to place a claim on him. In that sense, it’s a bit surprising that Philadelphia wasn’t able to find a taker in a trade although the cap space freed up by the move may have been preferable to whatever marginal return such a move might have yielded especially with Kevin Hayes getting closer to returning.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel Placed On Waivers
With Kevin Hayes approaching a return to action, the Philadelphia Flyers have placed forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel on waivers. The team does have a roster spot open, but given Hayes will be coming off long-term injured reserve, the Flyers are in a tight cap situation and aren’t able to just add him directly to the group.
Aube-Kubel meanwhile is a legitimate candidate to be claimed, given his relative youth and versatility. The 25-year-old forward has played in seven games so far this season, averaging just under ten minutes a night. A physical presence that is not short on energy, the 2014 second-round pick has 233 hits in 102 career games. That’s only come with 28 points, but given his strong minor league results, there’s at least an argument to be made that he could provide a little more offensive with increased minutes.
One thing that may help him clear however is his contract, which carries a $1.075MM cap hit this season and pays Aube-Kubel $1.225MM in actual salary. There are cheaper options out there for a fourth line, so any team dealing with their own cap restraints may not be able to afford the addition.
If he does clear tomorrow, he’ll be able to return to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, an organization he’s very familiar with. Aube-Kubel has played 229 games for the team since turning pro, scoring 50 goals in the process.