The Flyers intend to terminate forward Ryan Johansen's contract after placing him on unconditional waivers Tuesday, the organization announced in a statement.
They cited a "material breach" as the means for the termination and said there would be no further comment.
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, 2024
Johansen was acquired in the Sean Walker deal with Colorado at the trade deadline back in March, but as a cap absorption move so that the Avalanche could get out from his $4 million salary.
The Flyers never seemed to have any real plans for him, and he never skated for them or the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL after he cleared waivers and was assigned there immediately following the deadline.
In his exit interview after the season, general manager Danny Brière said he didn't expect to have Johansen back and mentioned a medical issue that was preventing the veteran center from playing.
"All I can tell you is I don't expect him to be back," Brière said back in April. "I don't exactly know the situation. We're dealing on the medical side with him. I think the number one thing for him is to get him back to being able to play at this time. He doesn't think he can play hockey. Again, I wish I had a better answer for you, but we need to get him better to figure out if there's even a remote chance of him dressing for the organization at whatever level."
The Flyers appear to have concluded there wasn't, though that doesn't seem to mean that there has been a clean break and the process is over, per Sportsnet league insider Elliotte Friedman:
According to several sources: at issue is the injury that prevented Johansen from playing games for Philadelphi after being traded from Colorado.
We will see how it plays out— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) August 20, 2024
UPDATE [4:40 p.m.] – Johansen's agent Kurt Overhardt released this statement regarding the Flyers' decision Tuesday afternoon:
— KO Sports, Inc. (@KOSportsInc) August 20, 2024
For what it's worth, Overhardt also represents Cutter Gauthier, the former top prospect who had a now infamous trade out of the organization back in January.
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