In a late night move, the Philadelphia Flyers have traded forward Isaac Ratcliffe to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations, per Flyers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chuck Fletcher.
Ratcliffe has spent the 2022-23 season with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, registering just 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points in 26 games to accompany 22 penalty minutes and a -3 rating.
Ratcliffe, a 2017 second-round pick of the Flyers at 35th overall, has spent parts of five seasons with the Phantoms, scoring 22 goals and 34 assists for 56 points in 162 career AHL contests with the club.
Ratcliffe also played four seasons with the OHL’s Guelph Storm, helping lead the team to a 2019 J. Ross Robertson Cup as league champions after posting a 50-goal season in his final year before losing in the semifinals of the Memorial Cup to the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranada Huskies.
The hulking 6’5”, 203-pound forward made his NHL debut with the Flyers last season on January 29th, 2022 in a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. He would score his first NHL goal in his third game on February 9th, 2022 at home in a 6-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
Ratcliffe finished his 2021-22 campaign with a goal and 3 assists for 4 points in 10 NHL games with Philadelphia while notching AHL career-highs in goals (11), assists (17), and points (28) in 56 games with Lehigh Valley.
Philadelphia signed Ratcliffe to a one-year, $813,750 contract on July 19th, 2022 after presenting the restricted free agent with a qualifying offer.
The 24-year-old London, Ontario native has struggled mightily this season with the Phantoms, and it seems that the Flyers did not see much of a path for him in the organization anymore.
Ratcliffe will likely report to the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville’s AHL affiliate, and continue his season with a team that is just three points out of first place in the Central Division behind the Texas Stars.
As for what the future considerations could be, they will be one of two things: either a very low draft pick or a relatively unknown player that will be sent back Philadelphia’s way later on down the road.
