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Flyers Recall Helge Grans Under Emergency Conditions

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The Flyers announced Monday that they’ve recalled defenseman Helge Grans from AHL Lehigh Valley under emergency conditions. The 22-year-old will make his NHL debut tonight against the Avalanche, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Grans will enter the lineup for Emil Andrae, who the team said won’t play after sustaining a mid-body injury against the Sabres on Saturday. Philadelphia moved goaltender Samuel Ersson to injured reserve to open a spot on the active roster.

Grans arrived in the Flyers organization last year as part of the three-team trade with the Kings and Blue Jackets that sent Ivan Provorov to Columbus. Drafted 35th overall by Los Angeles in 2020, the 6’3″, 205-lb righty already has loads of professional experience. He logged 69 games of Swedish Hockey League experience with Örebro HK before coming to North America in 2021, and he’s since recorded 11 goals, 33 assists, 44 points, 58 PIMs, and a -4 rating in 185 games for the Kings’ and Flyers’ affiliates in Ontario and Lehigh Valley.

While Grans once projected as a solid puck-moving defender with good size, his point totals in the minors suggest he’ll be more of a stay-at-home option if he manages to lock down an everyday NHL role. He’s struggled to make a significant impact on the scoresheet after a 24-point rookie season in 56 games with Ontario in 2021-22, posting just eight points (1 G, 7 A) in 56 games with Lehigh Valley last season.

Grans will debut on the right side of a pairing with Yegor Zamula, head coach John Tortorella said. Don’t expect them to log a ton of minutes, though, with Tortorella adding he plans to “play the s*** out of [Travis Sanheim] and [Rasmus Ristolainen]” as the Flyers look to win their fourth game in a row and push their record above .500 for the first time since their first game of the season (via Kevin Kurz of The Athletic).

For Andrae, it’s a tough break for the 22-year-old. He’s played well in fringe top-four minutes with Jamie Drysdale and Cameron York hitting injured reserve in recent weeks, posting three assists with a +1 rating in 10 appearances while averaging 18:27 per game. The undersized 5’9″ blue-liner has gotten involved physically with 13 blocks and 15 hits, and his possession play has been quite good. The Flyers have controlled 51.2% of shot attempts with Andrae on the ice at even strength compared to 42.2% without him.

Ersson, meanwhile, hits IR after re-aggravating a lower-body injury last week. He’s not expected back until Saturday’s game against the Blackhawks at the earliest, so today’s move is purely for roster flexibility purposes and doesn’t impact his timeline for a return.

Flyers’ Samuel Ersson Out 1-2 Weeks, Re-Aggravated Lower-Body Injury

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Flyers starting netminder Samuel Ersson reinjured his previous lower-body issue and will miss the next one to two weeks, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports Friday.

Ersson, 25, sustained the initial injury in the first period of Philadelphia’s game against the Bruins on Nov. 2 while stretching to stop a shot from Nikita Zadorov. He missed a few contests but returned to action last Saturday, stopping 58 of 62 shots in a pair of games before missing out on Thursday’s overtime win over the Senators.

It’s not clear when exactly he re-aggravated the ailment. However, Kurz reports Ersson had imaging done in the past few days that revealed a minor tweak to the previous injury, which appeared to be groin-related.

In his first full season as the Flyers’ No. 1 option between the pipes, Ersson has responded to the challenge. He’s greatly improved on last season’s numbers, posting a 5-2-2 record, .902 SV%, 2.70 GAA, one shutout, and 0.4 GSAA in 10 starts and one relief appearance.

Those numbers become quite valuable when compared to his backups’ performance. Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov have combined for a 2-6-0 record and ghastly .862 SV% while conceding 8.3 goals above average.

It will now be down to those two to improve their numbers, as Ersson could remain sidelined for anywhere from the Flyers’ next three to seven games. Since they were both on the active roster, and injuries have forced the Flyers to carry three goalies for quite a few days now, no corresponding transaction is needed.

Given Ersson’s return timeline, Philadelphia could place him on injured reserve to open up a roster spot if necessary.

Metro Notes: Johnson, Brindley, Eller, Ersson

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Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson is back practicing today for the first time since he injured his shoulder back on October 17th in a game against the Buffalo Sabres. Johnson has missed ten consecutive games due to the injury he suffered when colliding with a Blue Jackets teammate.

The former fifth-overall pick played in just four games before the injury but was very productive, posting two goals and three assists while averaging 16:46 of ice time per game. Johnson looked as though he was ready to break out two seasons ago when he recorded a 40-point season as a 20-year-old. However, last season, his play fell off dramatically, as he tallied just six goals and ten assists in 42 games.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated forward Gavin Brindley off injured reserve and loaned him to the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. Brindley broke his finger in a preseason game on October 1st and ended up missing the first 15 games of the regular season. The 20-year-old  made his NHL debut at the end of last season in April after he was drafted by the Blue Jackets in the second round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. An undersized forward, Brindley had a very successful run in the NCAA with the Michigan Wolverines, recording 37 goals and 54 assists in 81 career games from 2022-24.
  • New acquired Washington Capitals forward Lars Eller will make his return to the Capitals lineup tomorrow night after he was acquired via trade from the Penguins this week (as per Tarik El Bashir of the NHL Network). Eller practiced today with the Capitals and centered the third line where he was flanked by Andrew Mangiapane and Jakub Vrana. Eller was one of the few bright spots for the Penguins this season and dealt with very difficult deployment in Pittsburgh, starting over two-thirds of his shifts in the defensive zone. Despite the unfavorable zone starts, the 35-year-old still managed to put up four goals and three assists in 17 games.
  • Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson left practice early yesterday after suffering a small tweak (as per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia). The issue is apparently not something that will keep Ersson out long-term, but it will keep him out of the lineup this evening as Aleksei Kolosov will be the backup to starter Ivan Fedotov. The Flyers already have three goaltenders on their roster and won’t need to make a roster in order to replace Ersson.

Flyers Notes: Michkov, Ersson, Kolosov

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Matvei Michkov will be a healthy scratch for the first time in his career tonight, head coach John Tortorella told reporters (including Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports). He got back on the scoresheet Tuesday against the Hurricanes with a power-play assist, but he hasn’t recorded an even-strength point since Oct. 26 against the Wild and has seen his minutes reduced over the past four games. He’ll sit for Anthony Richard, who will make his Flyers debut after being recalled in place of the IR-bound Ryan Poehling yesterday.

“Just part of the process,” Tortorella said. “We’re trying to help him. I told you guys: with young guys, they can watch games too, as part of development. It’s trying to help him.” Sitting the Calder Trophy frontrunner for a game is something he’s hinted at for a few days.

Michkov, the seventh overall pick in 2023, has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) through his first NHL 13 games and is averaging 17:50 per game. Despite his struggles to produce offense at even strength, he’s carrying possession well. The Flyers control 48.4% of shot attempts with Michkov on the ice compared to 44.7% without him.

There’s more from Philadelphia:

  • Goaltender Samuel Ersson remains out of the lineup tonight against the Lightning as he continues to nurse a lower-body injury, per Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He was a participant in morning skate, though, signaling a return isn’t far off. It’ll be his second game missed with the injury, putting a pause on what had been a good start to the season for the 25-year-old with a .901 SV%, 2.68 GAA and 0.5 GSAA.
  • Unfortunately, he’s not the only Flyers netminder with injury issues. While they initially anticipated giving Aleksei Kolosov his third career NHL start tonight, he sustained an undisclosed injury during morning skate and may be unavailable to dress, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Without time to get a recall from AHL Lehigh Valley to Tampa for tonight’s game, they’ll need to rely on the arena’s designated emergency backup goaltender if Kolosov isn’t cleared to play. He may still be healthy enough to dress as the backup, but either way, it appears Ivan Fedotov will get a chance to get back on track after logging a horrid .821 SV% and 5.35 GAA through his first three showings.

Metro Notes: Ersson, Johnson, York

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Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson is currently managing a minor groin injury (as per Kevin Kurz of The Athletic). Ersson’s condition isn’t expected to sideline him for long, though it’s not yet clear when he’ll return to full participation. The 25-year-old left his last start against the Boston Bruins with what was being called a lower-body injury, but now with that injury defined, it appears that the issue could cost the young netminder some time.

Ersson has shown a lot of promise this season and has arguably taken over the Flyers’ starting role. Given that, the Flyers are likely to take a cautious approach to ensure he avoids further issues. With the demands on goaltenders, groin-related injuries can be particularly limiting and difficult to predict. The Flyers will undoubtedly monitor Ersson’s progress as they continue building a solid roster of younger talent. So far this season, Ersson has dressed in nine games and is sporting a 4-2-1 record, with a .901 save percentage and a 2.68 goals-against average.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Kent Johnson of the Columbus Blue Jackets participated in a skate after practice today (as per Blue Jackets reporter Jeff Svoboda). Johnson’s return to the ice is a good sign of progress, even in a limited capacity. Johnson has been kept out of action with a shoulder injury since October 17th and isn’t expected to get back into the lineup until the end of November. He was fortunate to avoid surgery but will ultimately miss around six weeks of the regular season with the ailment.
  • Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Cameron York will be travelling with the team, hinting at his availability for upcoming games (as per Kevin Kurz of The Athletic). York’s presence on the road is promising for the Flyers but head coach John Tortorella wasn’t sure whether the 23-year-old would play. York has been dealing with an upper-body injury that has kept him out of action since October 23rd and was off to a decent start to the year with two goals and an assist in his first seven games.

Snapshots: Ersson, Becher, Tokarski

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Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson suffered an injury in the first period of today’s game against Boston and did not return.  Following the game, the team clarified (Twitter link) that the netminder sustained a lower-body injury.  It has been a tough year between the pipes for the Flyers who came into this game with a combined save percentage of just .863 (including empty-netters allowed), the lowest in the Eastern Conference.  However, Ersson has had a reasonable start to his year, putting up a 2.72 GAA with a .897 SV% heading into today’s action.  Aleksei Kolosov came on in relief while Ivan Fedotov, who has struggled mightily in his limited NHL action so far, is also on the active roster should Ersson miss any more time.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Red Wings prospect Ondrej Becher has signed an ATO agreement with AHL Grand Rapids, per a team release. Detroit took the 20-year-old in the third round of the draft back in June following a dominant showing with WHL Prince George that saw him score 32 goals and 64 assists in 58 games last season, good for 13th in league scoring.  While he remains eligible to spend an overage year at the junior level, it appears the Red Wings would prefer to see how he fares in the pros first but the tryout agreement suggests that they’re open to the idea of sending him back to junior if things don’t go well.
  • With the Hurricanes needing Spencer Martin due to Fredrik Andersen’s injury, their AHL affiliate in Chicago has made a move, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve signed veteran goalie Dustin Tokarski to a PTO agreement. The 35-year-old was in Ottawa’s training camp on a tryout but wasn’t signed.  He spent last season with AHL Rochester, posting a 3.32 GAA and a .890 SV% in 24 games and is a veteran of more than 400 appearances at that level over 14 seasons along with 80 NHL contests.  The PTO agreement can last for up to 25 games.

Flyers Sign Eetu Mäkiniemi To One-Year Deal

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Sep. 25: The Flyers made Mäkiniemi’s signing official Wednesday.

Sep. 24: The Philadelphia Flyers have signed goaltender Eetu Mäkiniemi to a one-year, two-way contract (as per PuckPedia).  The 25-year-old was attending Flyers training camp on a PTO and now has a guarantee heading into the 2024-25 season. The deal will see the former fourth-round pick earn $200K in the minors while making $775K if he sees NHL time.

Mäkiniemi will likely be a Group 6 UFA again next summer unless he happens to play 26 NHL games this upcoming season, in which case he would be an RFA (as per PuckPedia). The likelihood of him seeing 26 NHL games is pretty low given that the Flyers already have Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov ready to start the season in the NHL as well as veteran Cal Petersen who could start the year as the AHL starter.

Mäkiniemi has a little bit of NHL experience having spent the last two years with the San Jose Sharks where he dressed in two games back in 2022-23. He played almost all of last season with the Sharks affiliate the San Jose Barracuda going 8-8 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.14 goals-against average. Mäkiniemi also played in three ECHL games for the Wichita Thunder.

Mäkiniemi started the Flyers preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens last night and played just over 31 minutes stopping 13 out of the 14 shots that were fired his way. He looked relatively composed for an inexperienced goaltender fighting for a job and did enough in the small sample size to secure a contract with Philadelphia.

Examining The Philadelphia Flyers’ Goalie Depth

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The Philadelphia Flyers have had their moments over the past decade-plus, but even throughout their periods of championship contention recently, the team has lacked an elite, long-term starting netminder. Steve Mason, who played just four full seasons in a Flyers uniform from 2013 to 2017, was the closest thing they had to one since the new millennium.

Even during their most recent Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2010, goaltending was their major weakness. They were backstopped by a tandem of Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton, neither of whom had any recent or successful experience as a true starter. They’ve likely found their next one in 25-year-old Carter Hart, who already sits ninth all-time in wins in franchise history despite playing just five seasons for the Flyers during a period of mediocrity.

Behind Hart, though, new general manager Daniel Brière has made a number of interesting moves to fill out the team’s goalie depth. They arguably have a four-way battle for the backup job heading into next season, although some options are likelier than others. Two players split the backup role for them last season – Felix Sandström and Samuel Ersson, the latter of whom played less but posted far better numbers with a 6-3-0 record and .899 save percentage compared to Sandström’s abysmal .880 mark.

The Flyers are just a handful of years removed from the 2018-19 campaign, where they set an NHL record for most goalies used in a season with eight. Hart, Brian Elliott, Anthony Stolarz, Calvin Pickard, Cam Talbot, Michal Neuvirth, Mike McKenna, and Alex Lyon all got some action in the crease in a Philadelphia jersey that season. Next season, they hope someone impresses enough (and stays healthy enough) to break out and bring that number back down to two.

Now, it’s time to see who exactly that could be:

Samuel Ersson

The Flyers think (hope?) they have a late-round gem in Ersson, who they selected 143rd overall in the 2018 NHL Draft. The 23-year-old made his NHL debut just last season and also took over the starting role for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, recording a .900 save percentage and 2.87 goals-against average in 42 games. It was a huge rebound campaign for him after injuries limited him to just five appearances with Lehigh Valley in 2021-22. The team obviously believes in him, handing him a two-year, $2.9MM extension earlier this month set to start in the 2024-25 season.

Of all the names here, Ersson’s the one the Flyers hope commands the backup role come opening night and, ideally, remains in the NHL by the time the 2023-24 season draws to a close. He is still waiver-exempt and isn’t terribly close to requiring them, either. He needs to play 48 more NHL games (or two more NHL seasons, whichever comes first) before he’ll need to clear waivers to head to the minors, per CapFriendly. That being said, from an asset management standpoint, Sandström does require waivers and is a potential claim candidate. Ersson will need to clearly demonstrate Sandström is potentially expendable from the organization with a strong camp.

Ivan Fedotov

There is a fair amount of intrigue in Fedotov’s on-ice potential. The question looms, however, if he’ll actually be at training camp. The IIHF sided with Philadelphia regarding a contract dispute between them, Fedotov and KHL club CSKA Moskva after Fedotov had two technically active contracts for 2023-24. CSKA and the KHL are likely to appeal the ruling, however, and it’s unclear whether Fedotov will travel to the United States and suit up for the Flyers.

Fedotov didn’t play at all last season after completing required military service in Russia, an unforeseen complication that occurred after the Flyers had signed him to an entry-level contract and penciled him into their backup role last season. Given the murky contractual situation and the breakout of Ersson, however, he’s lost the edge on the role. There’s no denying he’s the highest-ceiling option available, however. The 26-year-old stands at an absolutely massive 6-foot-8 and 212 pounds and won the KHL’s Best Goaltender award, an All-Star team nod, a Gagarin Cup championship, and an Olympic silver medal – all during the 2021-22 season. The year prior, he still posted spectacular numbers, recording a .925 save percentage in 26 games with CSKA.

Cal Petersen

The Flyers acquired Petersen, 28, via trade from the Los Angeles Kings to provide some cap relief in the three-way deal that sent Ivan Provorov to Columbus. Briefly viewed as Los Angeles’ long-term goalie option post-Jonathan Quick, Petersen had a disastrous 2022-23 campaign which saw him post a .868 save percentage in nine starts before the Kings waived him (and his $5MM cap hit) and assigned him to the AHL.

With two years remaining on his deal, Petersen hasn’t looked like himself since posting a 9-18-5 record but a sparkling .911 save percentage and 2.89 goals-against average for the Kings in 2020-21. He’s the most experienced option available to the Flyers for the backup role with 94 NHL starts under his belt, and he may enter next season with some renewed confidence after a strong performance for the United States at the World Championships. That being said, he’s a non-candidate to get claimed on waivers given his albatross contract, and he’ll need to significantly outplay the trio of younger, higher-upside netminders here in order to return to a full-time NHL role in a Flyers uniform.

Felix Sandström

Selected 70th overall in 2015, Sandström didn’t take the step forward that Philadelphia wished he would have last season. The 26-year-old started the season as Hart’s backup but won just three out of 18 starts, posting poor advanced and standard stats in the process. He has posted good enough numbers when given the chance in the minors, but he hasn’t shown anything at the NHL level to suggest it can translate.

That being said, he’s still relatively young in goalie years at 26, and if he shows enough strides in camp, it could be enough to earn him the nod over Ersson (or Fedotov) to avoid exposing him to waivers or to make the Flyers consider carrying three netminders. Either way, he likely won’t receive more than the 20 games he played overall for the Flyers last season, save for a significant injury to Hart.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Flyers Sign Samuel Ersson To Two-Year Extension

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6:42 pm: CapFriendly has learned the details of Ersson’s two-year extension. The young netminder will earn $1MM in base salary plus a $300K signing bonus in 2024-25, while he’ll get $1.6MM in base salary with no bonuses in 2025-26.

9:37 am: The Flyers have locked up one of their goalies of the future, announcing that they’ve signed Samuel Ersson to a two-year contract extension that runs through the 2025-26 season.  The extension will carry a cap hit of $1.45MM.

The 23-year-old made his NHL debut in 2022-23, getting into a dozen games with Philadelphia where he certainly held his own, posting a 3.07 GAA along with a .899 SV%.  He became just the second goalie in franchise history to win his first six decisions.  Ersson spent most of the year at the AHL level with Lehigh Valley where he put up a 2.84 GAA and a .900 SV% in 42 appearances, finishing sixth league-wide in minutes played (2,511) and victories (24).

A fifth-round pick of the Flyers back in 2018 (143rd overall), Ersson still has one year remaining on his entry-level contract, a deal that carries an AAV of $925K.

With the Flyers acquiring Cal Petersen and still having Felix Sandstrom in the fold (plus the ongoing Ivan Fedotov saga as the team tries to get the IIHF to recognize his tolled contract), it seemed like Ersson, who is still waiver-exempt, was a strong candidate to go back to the Phantoms next season.  That way, he’d have an opportunity to play the bulk of the games once again.

On the surface, this contract implies otherwise.  For the Flyers to commit two years at $1.45MM on a one-way deal to Ersson a year early, it’s reasonable to infer that they expect him to see a reasonable amount of NHL action next season.  If not, it probably wouldn’t have cost them this much to sign Ersson a year from now.  As a result, he might not just be a goalie of the future for Philadelphia but one of their goalies of the present as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Flyers Activate Travis Konecny Off Injured Reserve, Recall Samuel Ersson

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The Flyers won’t be contending for a playoff spot in the final couple of weeks of the season but they will get a boost to their lineup up front.  Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes (Twitter link) that winger Travis Konecny has been activated from injured reserve to rejoin the active roster.

The 26-year-old has missed the last six weeks with an upper-body injury, about double what the original recovery timeline was expected to be.  However, Konecny remains Philadelphia’s top scorer with 27 goals and 27 assists in just 52 games, a pace that had him well on his way to setting new career highs across the board prior to the injury.  If nothing else, getting back into a few games will give Konecny and the coaching staff some certainty that he’ll be fully ready to go for training camp in the fall.

Philadelphia doesn’t have any forwards up with the big club on an emergency loan so no corresponding roster move needed to be made to accommodate Konecny’s return.

However, they once again have a goalie up on an emergency basis as the team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Samuel Ersson has been brought back up from AHL Lehigh Valley.  He was sent down yesterday to get a game in with the Phantoms.  Carter Hart remains unavailable although he was on the ice prior to the morning skate today.  Ersson has a 3.07 GAA and a .898 SV% in 10 NHL appearances this season plus a 2.68 GAA and a .904 SV% in 37 AHL contests.

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