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Owen Tippett

Flyers Injury Notes: Deslauriers, Tippett, Couturier, Konecny

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Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic is reporting that Nicolas Deslauriers of the Philadelphia Flyers didn’t attend today’s optional practice. Deslauriers didn’t play in the Flyers 5-4 win over the Minnesota Wild last night and is listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury. Deslauriers was supposed to be re-evaluated today, but no word yet if he will dress in Philadelphia’s game tomorrow evening against the Detroit Red Wings.

The 32-year-old Deslauriers has five goals and six assists in 70 games this season while playing just over ten minutes a night on the fourth line. His signing last summer was one of the more baffling moves that any team made as the Flyers elected to give a four-year contract with a modified no trade clause to a player that has never been able to score or remain in the lineup.

In other Flyers injury news:

  • Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia is reporting that Owen Tippett has been banged up this week and didn’t attend Flyers practice today. Tippett left practice earlier in the week, and when asked about it coach John Tortorella said Tippett was “Not serious, nicked up.” Tippett has taken massive strides this season for the Flyers after coming over from the Florida Panthers in last year’s Claude Giroux trade. Tippett has a career high 39 points in 66 games and has looked every bit the top-6 winger the Flyers hoped they were getting when they dealt their former captain.
  • Olivia Reiner of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweeted that Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny were both present at Flyers practice today and wearing regular contact jerseys. Couturier hasn’t played in over a year after having two back surgeries in less than nine months. The 30-year-old center has had a long road to get back and while it is encouraging to see him practicing with the team once again, it is unknown if he returns to game action in what has been a lost season for the club. Konecny on the other hand has been out since suffering an upper body injury in late February in a game against the Calgary Flames. Konecny had been having a stellar season with 54 points in 52 games before he was put on injured reserve. It was a bounce back season for the 26-year-old after struggling to score in the two seasons previous. Should Konecny return to the lineup soon, he will likely eclipse the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career.

Flyers Place Owen Tippett On IR, Recall Olle Lycksell

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Flyers winger Owen Tippett left Thursday’s season-opening victory against New Jersey after just four shifts and it appears he’ll be out for a little while at least as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve placed him on injured reserve which means he’ll be out for a minimum of a week.  In a corresponding move, Philadelphia has recalled forward Olle Lycksell from Lehigh Valley of the AHL.

Tippett was a key part of the return that the Flyers received in the swap that sent Claude Giroux to Florida back at the trade deadline.  He made a good first impression with Philadelphia down the stretch, picking up seven points in 21 games to push his full-season totals to 10 goals and 11 assists in 63 contests.  The 23-year-old signed a two-year bridge deal in late July that carries a $1.5MM cap hit, a contract that allows the team to get a better sense of his upside but that will have to wait a bit until he’s able to return now.

As for Lycksell, the Flyers signed him back in May 2021 but he spent all of last season with Vaxjo of the SHL where he collected 14 goals and 20 assists in 47 games while averaging over a point per game in Champions League play.  He had four points during their rookie camp and saw action in four games in the preseason, primarily in a top-six role and appears to have made a positive impression on the coaching staff to get this early recall.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Owen Tippett

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The Philadelphia Flyers have locked up restricted free agent Owen Tippett for the next two years, signing him to a two-year, $3MM contract ($1.5MM AAV). PuckPedia reports that it will be worth $1.25MM in 2022-23 and $1.75MM in 2023-24.

Tippett, 23, is at something of a crossroads in his career. If there is ever to be a year where he needed to establish himself as a legitimate full-time NHL player, it is now, after being acquired by the Flyers last season as part of the return for Claude Giroux. Following the trade, he scored four goals and seven points in 21 games with Philadelphia, seeing more ice time than he had ever received with the Florida Panthers.

Despite having a powerful, accurate shot–one that was the biggest talking point when he went 10th overall in 2017–Tippett hasn’t actually scored at the rate many were expecting. His career shooting percentage has sat right around 8% since he entered the league, and he has just 18 goals in 115 NHL games. Even in Philadelphia, where he was thrust into substantial powerplay time as soon as he arrived, he managed just a single goal with the man advantage, a scenario where many expected him to dominate.

So this season, with a full summer with the organization, new coaching staff, and plenty of opportunities to play up in the lineup, Tippett will have big expectations once again. If he can take a step forward and become the big, powerful, offensive presence that many expected him to be, there is an opportunity for huge surplus value in this two-year deal. If he can’t, things might turn sour rapidly, as his career will always be connected to Giroux from this point forward in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Flyers Recall Owen Tippett

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The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have recalled forward Owen Tippett ahead of their game against the New York Islanders this afternoon. Tippett will wear #74 and be available to play for the Flyers in today’s game. The young forward was of course the centerpiece coming back to Philadelphia in exchange for Claude Giroux yesterday, and had been playing with the Florida Panthers’ AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, for the past few weeks.

As expected, the trade from Florida to Philadelphia should open some new horizons for Tippett, who has struggled to establish himself in the NHL. Now with the Flyers, who have struggled this year, especially with injuries, Tippett could find himself not only in the lineup more, but with more minutes and more opportunities. The former 10th overall selection in 2017 has not necessarily failed at the NHL level, but he has not yet reached the expectations that lead to him being selected where he was.

To date, Tippett has 14 goals and 19 assists in 93 career NHL games, including six goals and eight assists in 42 games for the Panthers this season. Tippett does still have plenty of promise, headlined by an impressive 18 points in just 12 AHL games this season. Tippett’s AHL production shows he may finally be fully acclimated to the professional game and ready for new challenges. Those new challenges may be the exact ones that Tippett needs to take his game to the next level in the NHL: more high-leverage opportunities. Tippett has found himself on an incredibly talented Panthers team, which boasts incredible forward depth, the past two seasons. Because of this, Tippett has seen more limited ice-time, which could speak more to Florida’s depth and talent, than it does to Tippett’s skill. Now with the Flyers, Tippett could expect not only more ice-time, but more opportunities to play with the Flyers’ best players, and potentially even appear regularly on the team’s powerplay.

As tough as it is for Flyers fans to see Giroux go, they still may have something to look forward to this afternoon and down the road as well.

Florida Panthers Acquire Claude Giroux

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The Florida Panthers have acquired Claude Giroux from the Philadelphia Flyers, reports The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. TSN’s Chris Johnston adds that Owen Tippett is part of the package going back to Philadelphia. The Flyers will also receive a 2024 first-round pick from the Panthers, says David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, which is top-10 protected. They will also receive a 2023 third-round pick, according to The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli (link).

In addition to Giroux, the Panthers will also receive forward Connor Bunnaman per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, as well as forward German Rubtsov and the Flyers’ 2024 fifth-round pick, adds LeBrun (link).

With the trade finally materializing, Giroux’s illustrious career on Broad Street has come to an end, and so has the sweepstakes for one of the most coveted deadline rentals in recent history. With the details all accounted for, this trade includes many moving parts on either side. The Panthers of course acquire Giroux, along with Rubtsov, Bunnaman, and a fifth-round draft pick in 2024. In exchange for their franchise icon and other pieces, the Flyers receive Tippett, a first-round draft pick in 2024, and a third-round draft pick in 2023. The Flyers will also retain 50% of Giroux’s salary, as expected.

In Giroux, the Panthers acquire an incredibly versatile player, and another star to add to their group. The 34-year-old has shown throughout his career he can produce strong offensive numbers while playing a 200-foot game, excelling on both the powerplay and penalty-kill, and is widely regarded as one of the best faceoff men in the game. To date, Giroux sits at exactly 900 career points in an even 1,000 career games, including 18 goals and 24 points in 57 games for the Flyers this season.

Giroux not only gives the Panthers another option, but should allow them to be creative in setting their lineups down the stretch and into the playoffs. He should also be able to take some pressure off of the players around him, including star center Aleksander Barkov and Hart Trophy candidate Jonathan Huberdeau.

As exciting as the blockbuster is for hockey fans, especially Panthers fans, the trade is a tough pill to swallow for the Flyers and their fans. While Giroux was expected to be dealt considering the team’s recent struggles and Giroux’s status as a UFA after this season, it is no easier to see the team’s captain, who had just celebrated 1,000 games in the NHL and in a Flyers uniform, at home on Thursday.

Nonetheless, the return for Giroux should be enough to excite the Flyers. The organization acquired two draft picks, including a third-round pick in a strong 2023 draft class, as well as a first-round draft pick in 2024. While the 2024 draft feels like it’s quite far-out, it provides the Flyers with an asset to help continue and develop their build with assets down the road. The primary centerpiece of this deal though, is Tippett. Although Tippett has not met the expectations that saw him selected 10th overall by the Panthers in 2017, he has been able to produce in both the AHL and NHL so far in his career. It’s also worth noting that Tippett has seen rather limited minutes and opportunities in his time with the Panthers, considering the talent and depth of the organization. Most likely, Flyers fans can look forward to seeing their young forward in the lineup soon.

Owen Tippett To Be Held Out Of AHL Lineup

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The Florida Panthers, or more specifically the Charlotte Checkers, will be holding Owen Tippett out of the lineup tonight according to Darren Dreger of TSN, as trade rumors continue to swirl. Tippett has been linked directly to the Philadelphia Flyers in the past and Dreger once again notes the speculation surrounding Claude Giroux.

Tippett, 23, continues to be a dominant player at the AHL level, with points in 11 of his 12 games with the Checkers and eight in his last five appearances. That minor league success hasn’t really translated to the NHL to this point though, with the young forward racking up just 14 goals and 33 points in 94 career games. Important to remember when considering those numbers though is the role that Tippett has played for the Panthers, rarely seeing anywhere close to top-six minutes given their glut of other talented options. In fact, in his 42 appearances this season he’s broken the 15-minute mark just five times and averages 12:32 on the year.

There is reason to believe that Tippett can produce at a higher level if he’s given the chance. A brilliant goal scorer in the OHL, he was picked tenth overall in 2017. Because of his situation so far, there is actually an interesting opportunity for any acquiring team. Tippett will be a restricted free agent this summer but is still not arbitration-eligible. With his depressed NHL statistics, he won’t be able to negotiate much of a raise over his entry-level salary and perhaps would even be open to a multi-year bridge deal at a relatively low cost. If someone believes that he can take a big step forward quickly–and a team like the Flyers is known to want players that can make an impact right away as they try to avoid a rebuild–he could provide quite a bit of excess value.

An injury at this point would certainly throw a wrench in those plans, meaning Tippett will likely be held out through Monday or until a trade is completed. Giroux meanwhile is set to play in his 1,000th game with the Flyers tonight, a threshold that needed to happen before any deal was possible.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Philadelphia Flyers’ Trade Deadline Targets

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Earlier this evening on Hockey Night in Canada, Jeff Marek noted that several high-profile Philadelphia Flyers’ front office members, including Chuck Fletcher, Daniel Briere, Dean Lombardi, and Bill Barber had attended the Lehigh Valley Phantoms game against the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers (link). Marek said:

We’ve talked before about how Claude Giroux may end up at the end of all of this, as a Florida Panther. Who are they there to see? We believe it is Owen Tippett, and we’ve talked before, Ron, about how Owen Tippett’s name is very much out there and how the Florida Panthers have let it be known that he could be available.

While Giroux to the Panthers has certainly been discussed before, and Tippett as a potential return is not news either, it is of note that a sizable contingent of the Flyers’ front office has gone to see Tippett play in person.

Tippett has been up and down for the Panthers this season, most recently having been sent down to Charlotte on February 22nd. While Tippett has not yet lived up to the potential the Panthers saw when they drafted him 10th overall in 2017, he has shown promise as of late. The 23-year-old winger has just 14 points in 42 games in the NHL this year, but he does have 10 points in eight games with Charlotte this season. Perhaps a change of scenery and an increased role with another team such as the Flyers could benefit Tippett and spark his development.

Florida Panthers Activate Maxim Mamin; Loan Owen Tippett To AHL

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The Florida Panthers already have too many forwards, and yet one more is returning today. The team has activated Maxim Mamin from injured reserve and expects to have him on the first line with Carter Verhaeghe and Aleksander Barkov this evening. To clear a roster spot for Mamin, the team has sent Owen Tippett back to the AHL once again.

This isn’t the first time Tippett finds himself without much opportunity in Florida. He was sent to the minors for a few days last month, was scratched the past two games, and played fewer than eight minutes in his last appearance. The young forward’s name has been in the rumor mill for months, and it was brought up again today by Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet’s The Jeff Marek Show:

Obviously you would like to see him play, I’m sure he wants to play. But I don’t think that’s necessarily the hold up of a trade. [Teams] scouted him in the American Hockey League, I’m sure there are plenty of teams that scouted him when he was a junior. Everyone kind of knows, or has an opinion on what they have or haven’t got yet. So while I’m sure [not playing] sucks for him, it doesn’t hold up a deal in my mind. And I think he’s going to be traded, I think it’s just a matter of–is he going to be part of a package to get something, or does he just go himself. 

Sending Tippett to the minor leagues does give him a chance to play, but as Friedman suggests, it’s not like he has much to prove at that level. The 23-year-old forward recorded four points in his two-game stint with the Charlotte Checkers earlier this season and overall has 20 goals and 46 points in 53 career AHL appearances. Selected tenth overall by the Panthers in 2017, Tippett possesses a huge shot and powerful frame, but still faces inconsistency when trying to create offense for his linemates. Through 94 regular season games in his NHL career he has 14 goals and 33 points, though his short playoff run last year with four points in six games suggested he might have even more to offer in the postseason.

Trade Rumors: Canucks, Tippett, Mrazek, Ducks

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek didn’t hold back on their reporting late this evening on “Hockey Night in Canada”. The duo behind “32 Thoughts” had plenty to contribute, starting with Friedman’s report on the Vancouver Canucks. With the Vancouver front office finally coming together, with Patrik Allvin being named GM of Jim Rutherford’s new-look front office, the Canucks are starting to get busy in trade talks. Although the .500 club is still in the Western Conference wild card race, the reality is that any true playoff success for Vancouver lies in the future. It should come as no surprise then that the Canucks are listening to trade offers – and not just for talked-about target J.T. Miller. Friedman reports that nearly any Vancouver forward could be had for the right price outside of captain Bo Horvat and young star Elias Pettersson. That includes Conor Garland, who the team just acquired themselves this past summer and signed to a reasonable five-year, $24.75MM deal. It is believed that the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, and New York Rangers are in pursuit of Garland, though there is likely no shortage of interest in the skilled forward, who has 102 points in 155 games dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season.

  • The Florida Panthers are one of the biggest surprises of the season, currently leading the top-heavy Atlantic Division with a .744 points percentage that is also third-best in the NHL. The Panthers are expected to go all-in on a Stanley Cup run this season and specifically are hoping to land a legitimate top-four defenseman. As they go about working the phones, Marek reports that one major name they are dangling is Owen Tippett. The 2017 first-rounder still has yet to make his mark in the NHL, struggling to find enough consistency at the top level to stick in the Florida lineup. However, he is only 22 and still a well-regarded as well as well-liked prospect. Tippett will likely end up as the centerpiece to any big trade the Panthers make this season.
  • With Jack Campbell playing at an elite level this season while Petr Mrazek has struggled with injuries and inconsistency, the latter has proven to be little more than a pricey backup for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season while the former will be the team’s offseason priority as an impending free agent. As a result, teams have begun to inquire about Mrazek’s availability. If Campbell does stay in Toronto, the team will have a proven starter and have some promising young options like Joseph Woll and Ian Scott behind him. Marek also adds that the Maple Leafs are in hot pursuit of undrafted OHL standout Mack Guzda, who would further boost the depth chart if Toronto can win a heated race for his services. This hypothetically makes Mrazek and his $3.8MM cap hit expendable, even though he just signed with Toronto this past summer. However, for now the Leafs are maintaining that Mrazek remains a part of their plans. Marek was not so sure about that, but does report that any decision on a Mrazek trade will have to wait for the offseason.
  • Among the other suitors for Guzda are the Ducks, Hurricanes, Islanders, Rangers, Penguins, and Predators. (Notably, Guzda is a Tennessee native.) One of those teams is about to get much more serious in their pursuit, as well as in the trade market. Friedman notes that Anaheim is closing in on naming a general manager. While there are still several names in contention, he believes that Pat Verbeek is the odds-on favorite. Once a permanent GM is named, the Ducks will become a fascinating team to watch; they are both well within the thick of the Western Conference playoff race, yet also possess numerous high-value rentals.

Florida Panthers Add Jonathan Huberdeau, Three Others To COVID Protocol

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Dec 28: Olli Juolevi is the latest Panther to enter the protocol, joining the four added on Sunday who are still unavailable.

Dec 26: The Florida Panthers announced Sunday afternoon that wingers Jonathan Huberdeau and Owen Tippett, center Eetu Luostarinen, and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

An expected day of COVID news continues as teams return to practice after the holiday break. It now makes 12 Florida players in COVID protocol. Wingers Frank Vatrano, Carter Verhaeghe and Ryan Lomberg, center Sam Bennett, and defensemen Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, Radko Gudas, and Brandon Montour were already in protocol.

After the NHL postponed all games on December 27, the team was supposed to return to play on December 29 against the New York Rangers. With these four skaters at the least likely being unavailable for this game, it’s entirely a possibility that the game could get postponed as well.

It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that the NHL could postpone the entire schedule further as these cases continue to come in. Nearly every team’s roster is seriously affected by COVID cases at this point.

For the Panthers though, returning to play without these four is tough. Huberdeau is their team leader in scoring with 10 goals and 23 assists for 33 points through 29 games, while Tippett and Luostarinen have been good depth pieces, combining for 19 points in 29 games each. Weegar is playing nearly 24 minutes a night and is an integral part of the defense.

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