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Tanner Laczynski

Tanner Laczynski Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Philadelphia Flyers are without another forward for the next little while, as Tanner Laczynski has been moved to injured reserve and is out week-to-week according to Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He joins Sean Couturier, James van Riemsdyk, Bobby Brink, and Wade Allison as forwards on IR.

The silver lining, if one can call it that, is that van Riemsdyk practiced and appears to be ready to return when the Flyers play tomorrow night.

Laczynski, 25, has been a regular in the Flyers lineup this season, playing in 19 games so far. The late-round pick had just six appearances before this year and had never registered an NHL point – something he has four of now. One of those came last night against the Colorado Avalanche in a statement win for the club, pouring on five goals against the defending (albeit banged up) champions.

Moving him to injured reserve opens up the roster spot needed for van Riemsdyk, meaning no one else will have to be sent down. The Flyers have actually been playing much better of late, even if their overall results haven’t been strong. They still sit seventh in the Metropolitan Division with a 9-12-5 record.

Philadelphia Flyers Re-Assign Egor Zamula

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The Philadelphia Flyers can’t just have Egor Zamula sitting in the press box all season, so they’ve loaned him back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. Over the weekend, head coach John Tortorella explained that it’s been tough for the young defenseman because he isn’t getting into the lineup and the team doesn’t have much practice time. In his place, the Flyers have recalled Tanner Laczynski once again.

Zamula, 22, is already way ahead of most undrafted defensemen in terms of development but given his upside, it’s important to keep him playing as much as possible. The last time he suited up for Philadelphia was November 5, and even then he played just over nine minutes of ice time. Through nine appearances this season, he has two points – the first two of his young career.

Signed out of the WHL in 2018, the big Russian defenseman quickly stormed his way to the NHL, making his debut in the 2020-21 season. He’s played 21 games overall, but still isn’t trusted to be one of the team’s regular six just yet. The Phantoms will certainly take him back with open arms, though, as he was outstanding for them last year with 29 points in 58 games.

In a platform year, with his entry-level contract expiring at the end of the season, a lack of NHL playing time will actually make Zamula cheaper for the Flyers to sign next summer. That said, if the team suffers any more injuries on defense, he’ll likely be one of the first call-ups.

Philadelphia Flyers Recall Max Willman

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The Philadelphia Flyers have made a roster swap, recalling Max Willman from the minor leagues while assigning Tanner Laczynski back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. He’ll be joined there by Patrick Brown, who has been loaned on a long-term injury conditioning assignment as he approaches a return.

Willman, 27, will potentially give the team a better replacement for Wade Allison, who left a game on the weekend. Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic reported that initial tests suggested that it wasn’t overly serious, but he missed yesterday’s game against the Dallas Stars.

In that game, the Flyers actually played decent but were blown out of the building by special teams, allowing two powerplay and one shorthanded goal to the Stars. Laczynski, who played just nine minutes, doesn’t contribute to either of those. Whether Willman gets a chance to kill penalties remains to be seen but it is Brown that could really help on that side of the ice.

Brown won 58.5% of his faceoffs last season and averaged nearly two minutes of short-handed ice time in his 44 appearances. While those games resulted in just nine points, he could give the team another useful body to put in the bottom six. Willman, meanwhile, had just six points in 41 games last season and was rarely used shorthanded. The conditioning loan does not mean Brown has been activated from LTIR, only that he is ready to get into some game action to test out his recovery.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Tanner Laczynski

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The Philadelphia Flyers have reached an agreement with restricted free agent Tanner Laczynski, signing him to a two-year contract. The first year of the deal, (2022-23) will be a two-way contract, while the second will be one-way. It will carry an average annual value of $762.5K at the NHL level, meaning it is worth the league minimum in both years. Per CapFriendly, the deal breakdown is as follows:

2022-23: $750K NHL / $125K minors / $175K guaranteed
2023-24: $775K NHL

Laczynski, 25, is an interesting candidate for a bottom-six role with the Flyers this season, after playing six games with them since turning pro. A sixth-round pick in 2016, he played four years at Ohio State University before joining the organization in 2020, and has spent the majority of his time in the minor leagues with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Still, with his versatility–Laczynski can play both center and wing–size, and work ethic, he could be in line for a shot at the opening night roster. That is likely helped by another injury, this time to Bobby Brink, coming down the pipe in recent weeks.

One thing that could hurt his chances is his waiver-exempt status, which will allow him to be freely moved to the minor leagues this season. That status will change in 2023-24 when his contract also switches to a one-way deal, suggesting that the Flyers plan on having him in the NHL by that point. There’s no guarantee that happens though, and Laczynski will still need to fight and claw for ice time if he wants to be a full-time option. If he can accomplish that, he’ll set himself up for a nice negotiation down the road, as this contract will take him right to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2024.

Tanner Laczynski To Undergo Surgery

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The Philadelphia Flyers will be without Tanner Laczynski once again, as the young forward is expected to undergo hip surgery according to head coach Alain Vigneault. At this point, Laczynski is expected to miss the entire season.

As Vigneault explained, he simply hasn’t been able to see much of Laczynski to this point because of the series of injuries the young forward has dealt with. After signing out of Ohio State University in 2020, the sixth-round pick has had high expectations and barely any game action. Laczynski has played in just 19 games with the organization, 14 of those at the AHL level. In his five games with the Flyers, he has failed to register a point.

Now with another lost season, it’s hard to know what lies ahead for the 24-year-old. He will not reach Group VI unrestricted free agency because he doesn’t have the required professional seasons, meaning he’ll be a restricted free agent next summer. The Flyers could extend him a qualifying offer or work out a different deal, but it’s not clear at all where he would sit on the depth chart after missing the entire 2021-22 campaign. A late-round pick that made his name in a four-year college career, this is an extremely disappointing result for Laczynski’s early time as a pro.

Wade Allison meanwhile, who was ruled out earlier this month with a high ankle sprain, is also consulting with doctors on whether he needs surgery. Just a few days ago it was reported that the sprain was believed to be quite serious and could keep the young forward out several months, likely the result if it is determined surgery is indeed required. The 23-year-old Allison was expected to push for a full-time role with the Flyers this year, but could now be one of four players–including Laczynski, Zayde Wisdom, and Kevin Hayes–who have required surgery in the preseason.

Snapshots: Dvorak, Laczynski, Capitals, Mittelstadt

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The Canadiens are believed to have identified Coyotes center Christian Dvorak as their top trade target as they investigate their options following the Jesperi Kotkaniemi offer sheet, reports Sportsnet’s Eric Engels (audio link).  The 25-year-old was the logical speculative target for Montreal in this scenario with Arizona believed to be willing to move him and Dvorak being signed for four more years at $4.45MM while plausibly slotting in on the second line in the role that Kotkaniemi was expected to fill.  The asking price for Dvorak was believed to be high at the draft and with Montreal’s hand being forced here, it could even be higher now.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • In a column he penned for the Flyers’ team site, Philadelphia center Tanner Laczynski indicated that he has resumed on-ice activities after undergoing hip surgery back in April. The 24-year-old was limited to just 19 games last season in his first professional campaign split between the Flyers (five games) and AHL Lehigh Valley (14 contests).  With the additions of veterans Nate Thompson and Derick Brassard this summer, Laczynski may need to wait for injuries to strike before getting another NHL look next season.
  • The left side of Washington’s back end has undergone some changes this summer with Brenden Dillon (trade) and Zdeno Chara (free agency) departing and no one from outside the organization being brought in. As a result, J.J. Regan of NBC Sports Washington highlights that spot as an area of concern for the Capitals heading into next season with veteran Michal Kempny (who missed all of last season due to injury) and prospect Martin Fehervary (who has just six career NHL games played) as the two lefties behind Dmitry Orlov with veteran Matt Irwin also in the mix.  With minimal cap space and them needing to preserve what little they have for in-season recalls, it’s an area that the Caps may not be able to address before the start of the season.
  • The Sabres have held recent discussions with RFA center Casey Mittelstadt, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). The 22-year-old had somewhat of a bounce-back season in 2020-21, recording 22 points in 41 games with Buffalo after spending more than half of the previous year in the minors in between struggling considerably with the big club.

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