Ryan Johansen has not played a hockey game since the Colorado Avalanche traded him to the Philadelphia Flyers at the trade deadline. If he does play again, it probably won’t be for the Flyers, but the two sides are digging their feet in for a fight.
On Tuesday, the Flyers announced they’re placing Johansen on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract due to a material breach. That’s all the information they would give, stating that they would make no further comment at this time. Johansen has one year remaining on his contract.
Johansen has 60 days to decide if he wants to file a grievance via the NHLPA, and judging by this statement from his agent, I’d expect that to happen.
— KO Sports, Inc. (@KOSportsInc) August 20, 2024
Johansen last played a game for the Avalanche on March 4 against the Chicago Blackhawks, and actually never missed a game when he was in Colorado. Once the trade was made, he was waived and scheduled to be sent to the AHL. At that point, he stated he had a hip injury, which forced him to stay on the Flyers roster.
The Avalanche sent Johansen and their 2025 first round pick to the Flyers in exchange for Sean Walker, who has since left as a free agent. Johansen was brought in for next to nothing to see if he could fill the second line center role in Colorado, but it was a poor fit right from the start. His inability to keep up in Colorado’s up-tempo system was evident early on, and his role diminished until he was traded away.
“Ryan put everything he had into it, it just wasn’t working for whatever reason,” Chris MacFarland said after moving Johansen to Philadelphia. “He’s a really good person, too…It wasn’t working, and we had to fix it. It demanded attention, and we felt this was the right move.”
If the contract is indeed terminated, the Flyers will no longer be on the hook for half of Johansen’s $8 million cap hit. The interesting part is that the Predators would also get off the hook for the other half, freeing up $4 million in cap space for one of Colorado’s division rivals. Nashville retained 50% of Johansen’s cap hit when they traded him to the Avalanche last summer. If Johansen does indeed file a grievance, it may be a while before we know what the final result will be in this battle, so while the contract might be terminated in the next few days, the process is just beginning.