Flyers place Ryan Johansen on unconditional waivers for purpose of contract termination
The Philadelphia Flyers announced the club has put forward Ryan Johansen on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating Johansen’s contract.
The Philadelphia Flyers have placed forward Ryan Johansen on unconditional waivers today for the purpose of terminating his contract due to a material breach. pic.twitter.com/7P9aRhVIl2
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) August 20, 2024As per the team’s release, the Flyers are citing a material breach and will not be commenting further on the situation. Elliotte Friedman reports Johansen is expected to file a grievance and the process for resolution could be delayed, despite Johansen’s contract likely being terminated on Wednesday.
This is the second time the Flyers have put Johansen on waivers, with the first time coming immediately after he was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche. Flyers general manager Danny Briere spoke about Johansen’s future with the club back in April.
“All I can tell you is I don’t expect him to be back,” Briere said, in a quote transcribed by Philadelphia Hockey Now’s Jon Bailey. “I don’t know, exactly, the situation. We’re dealing on the medical side with him.
“The thing for him is getting him back to be able to play at this time. He doesn’t think he can play hockey. I wish I had a better answer for you. We need to get him better to figure out if there’s even a remote chance of him dressing for the organization.”
Johansen, 32, was acquired by the Flyers ahead of last season’s trade deadline in a deal with the Avalanche, which saw defenseman Sean Walker land in Colorado, meanwhile the Flyers also received a 2025 first-round pick. The first-rounder is top-10 protected. After registering 23 points in 63 games for the Avalanche, Johansen never suited up for the Flyers to end the 2023-24 season.
The Vancouver, BC native was originally a 2010 first-round draft pick, fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets and spent parts of five seasons in Columbus, before being dealt to the Nashville Predators during the 2015-16 season for defenseman Seth Jones. The Predators then moved on from Johansen during the 2023 offseason, dealing the veteran center to the Avalanche in essentially a salary dump transaction. Meanwhile, Nashville did retain $4 million of Johansen’s remaining AAV.
Johansen has tallied 202 goals and 578 points in 905 career NHL games. He’s also been a productive player throughout his Stanley Cup Playoff experience, collecting 54 points in 67 postseason games. His best season came back in 2018-19 as a member of the Predators, where Johansen posted 14 goals and 64 points in 80 games.
Johansen has one season left on his current contract, originally signing an eight-year, $64-million contract with the Predators in 2017. Thanks to the Avalanche retaining half his AAV in the Walker trade last season, the Flyers were on the hook for $4 million AAV against their 2024-25 salary cap.
Per Chris Johnston of The Athletic, Johansen has 60 days to decide on filing a grievance and that the early indication is that “he is likely to do so.” His representatives have released the following statement regarding the Flyers’ decision and their next steps.