Ryan Johansen was placed on unconditional waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday for the purpose of terminating his contract due to a material breach.
The Flyers would not comment on what the breach was.
Johansen never played for Philadelphia after the forward was acquired in a trade from the Colorado Avalanche on March 6 because of a hip injury. Prior to the trade, the 32-year-old had 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) in 63 games for the Avalanche.
The Flyers had intended to place Johansen on waivers after acquiring him in the trade but were unable to do so because of the hip injury.
Philadelphia general manager Daniel Briere said in June he wasn’t sure where Johansen was in his injury recovery.
“If he’s healthy he would be in [training] camp and have the chance to show us what he can do,” Briere said. “If he’s not and he needs surgery, then he’ll have to go through that.”
Kurt Overhardt, Johansen’s agent, said Monday that his client has sustained a severe hockey injury that requires surgery and that Johansen has worked in good faith with the Flyers and third-party doctors. Overhardt said he has reached out to the NHL Players’ Association to protect his client’s rights.
Johansen had one season remaining on the eight-year, $64 million contract ($8 million average annual value) he signed with the Nashville Predators on July 28, 2017. He would have counted for $4 million on the Flyers’ salary cap this season; the Predators retained 50 percent of his salary when they traded him to the Avalanche on June 24, 2023.
Johansen was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the No. 4 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft. He has 578 points (202 goals, 376 assists) in 905 games over 13 NHL seasons with the Blue Jackets, Predators and Avalanche, and 54 points (19 goals, 35 assists) in 67 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
