Flyers place Ryan Johansen on unconditional waivers, cite ‘material breach’ of contract

The Philadelphia Flyers have placed forward Ryan Johansen on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination, citing a material breach of the deal.

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 on March 6th in the trade that saw the Flyers deal defenseman Sean Walker and a 2026 5th-round pick to Colorado for him and a 2025 1st-round pick.

The 32-year-old did not play for either the Flyers or AHL Lehigh Valley due to an apparent hip injury, despite the fact that he played in all 63 of Colorado’s games before the trade went down. He was waived by the Flyers and assigned to the Phantoms but that decision was reversed after his injury came to light in a failed physical. The Flyers also attempted to find another suitor for him in a second trade, but to no avail.

“All I can tell you is I don’t expect him to be back,” said Flyers general manager Daniel Brière in April. “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 is expected to grieve his termination, per Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman. If Johansen wins his grievance, the Flyers may still be on the hook for part of his contract, which would hurt them given their lack of cap space. Johansen currently has one year left on his contract and counts for $4 million against the Flyers’ books – Nashville retained 50% of his salary for Colorado in a prior trade – but a successful termination would wipe that number clean.