The Philadelphia Flyers could have a bit of a roster crunch coming up when their pair of injured defensemen – Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen – both return from their injuries. Both are on IR at the moment, and when they return, the Flyers will need to find a way to clear one or two defensemen off their active roster. While the club has two defensemen who are waivers-exempt on its roster – Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald – The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz wrote that “it’s difficult to see the Flyers reassigning Bonk back to the AHL soon,” even when York and Ristolainen return.
Instead, Kurz floats the possibility that the Flyers could consider placing defenseman David Jiricek on waivers for the purpose of reassigning him to the club’s AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. According to Kurz, “the Flyers shouldn’t worry about waiving Jiricek,” as Kurz “can’t imagine he’ll get claimed with the Flyers already being his third organization.” Jiricek, 22, was the No. 6 overall pick at the 2022 NHL Draft, but has not lived up to his status as a former top prospect. Originally selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Jiricek was dealt to the Minnesota Wild for a haul of draft picks in November 2024. The Wild flipped him to the Flyers near last season’s trade deadline in exchange for winger Bobby Brink. Jiricek is averaging just 14:48 time on ice per game this season, and that’s including 2:07 per game on the power play. He was a healthy scratch for the Flyers’ most recent game.
Other notes from around the NHL:
On yesterday’s Insider Trading segment for TSN, Pierre LeBrun reported that the Detroit Red Wings are “actively scouting” the Montreal Canadiens in the event former captain Dylan Larkin changes his mind and agrees to include Montreal on the list of teams he’s willing to be traded to. According to LeBrun, the Red Wings are “fully aware” of the kind of trade packages Montreal has “aggressively put in front of” rival teams in its longstanding search for an impactful top-six trade addition. The Canadiens reportedly chased after Matthew Knies and Kirill Marchenko in the past, though the two ended up traded for each other. Now, the Canadiens are interested in the Red Wings’ No. 1 center. While there is no firm indication on what Montreal’s offer for Larkin looks like, one would have to imagine there is at least a possibility the trade package is centered around University of Michigan star center Michael Hage.
TSN’s Darren Dreger also reported on the Insider Trading segment that the Winnipeg Jets have reached an agreement with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to delay the date on which Hellebuyck will report to the team and undergo a physical until after the club’s Heritage Classic outdoor game this weekend. Hellebuyck, who has been suspended without pay for failure to report to the team in training camp, is looking to end his holdout and return to the team as he waits for them to fulfill his outstanding trade request. The Jets appear open to Hellebuyck’s return, but it seems they don’t want Hellebuyck’s return, and the immense attention that will inevitably generate, to distract from the Heritage Classic.