The Philadelphia Flyers enjoyed a relatively healthy offseason and subsequent preseason slate, but it looks like the back-end will be without one of its perceived regulars as Nick Seeler is tending to a lower-body injury.
According to Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Flyers head coach John Tortorella confirmed that the rugged defensive defenseman is day-to-day with an injury and is expected to miss the team’s season opener against the Vancouver Canucks.
The nature of the injury is somewhat unknown at the moment but it was sustained during a preseason game against Boston when he took a puck to the knee. He hasn’t practiced in well over a week and was seen walking with a noticeable limp.
A few days ago, assistant coach Brad Shaw commented on the injury, saying that it was taking a lot longer than usual to heal. Seeler was suffering through numbness in his leg after the puck struck a nerve and while it’s not viewed as a serious injury and the club was extremely hopeful that it wasn’t going to cause an absence, it seems like we will have to wait a little while for his return to the Flyers lineup.
Seeler has enjoyed a renaissance to his career after almost hanging up his skates for good during the 2020-21 season. The veteran defenseman missed the entire season but was brought in by former general manager Chuck Fletcher ahead of the 2021-22 season as a depth defenseman.
Ahead of last year’s trade deadline, Seeler was one of the more popular names on the trade market with the Flyers expected to be sellers. His instant chemistry with Sean Walker upped his trade value but the Flyers ended up extending him to a 4-year contract worth $10.8 million just before the deadline.
Seeler totaled 13 points in 71 contests last year, was a plus-9, accrued 78 PIM, averaged a career-best 16:57 TOI, delivered 132 hits, and blocked 205 shots. Adding to his totals from 2022-23 when he scored 4 goals in 77 games, held a +1 rating, and added 161 blocked shots to 132 hits in 14:29 ATOI. Overall in 3 seasons with the Orange and Black, he holds a +7 rating and has blocked 433 shots to his 333 hits in 15:05 ATOI in 191 games.
His shot blocking and defensive acumen will be sorely missed to start the season, especially on the penalty kill. At one point last year, the Flyers’ PK was ranked 1st. Erik Johnson will take Seeler’s spot in the lineup for tonight’s contest, but Emil Andrae could draw in the following day should Seeler remain sidelined and Johnson be taken out.
Andrae made the Flyers outright from training camp last year with Rasmus Ristolainen missing the start of the season and had an outside chance of cracking the roster again this year. However, he was eventually cut from the training camp roster and sent to the minors, where he is expected to work as the anchor of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ defense as well as the power play quarterback on the top unit.
It remains to be seen how long Seeler will remain sidelined and whether or not Andrae gets a game under his belt this season. However, as things stand today, Seeler is viewed as day-to-day with a lower body injury and Johnson will be taking his spot in the lineup alongside Ristolainen on the Flyers’ third pairing.
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