Early into training camp, the Philadelphia Flyers have already run into injury trouble, an issue that has plagued the team historically. Even if everything turns out, and the players are healthy to start the season, this situation is not a good sign for the future.
Flyers’ Injuries Piling Up
After just a few days of training camp and one preseason game, some of the team’s top players have already suffered injuries. Against the New Jersey Devils on Monday, Cam Atkinson was out of the lineup despite the expectation that he would play. After missing the entire 2022-23 season with an injury, he still might not be ready for opening night. Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ coach Ian Laperriere implied to the media on Sept. 27 that Atkinson should be fine but admitted he did not know the full details.
Travis Konecny has been the team’s most productive forward the last four seasons, was also absent from the team’s first preseason game and is not slated to appear in the team’s second. While he was on the ice and skating at practice on Sept. 27, there was no official update from the team on his status.
Even though the team has branded their rebuild a ‘new era’, there are still some negative similarities to previous seasons, such as the lack of communication on the injury front. Short-term absences are completely fine, and that is something that should be expected. However, these short-term absences have turned into long-term nightmares, particularly in the case of Atkinson just last season. When dealing with players and their health, nothing can be too certain.
Defenseman Cam York went two days without skating, but according to Laperriere, it is nothing to be worried about. There was little elaboration on that front, so his word is all we have. Again, for most teams, this shouldn’t raise any eyebrows, but the Flyers, in particular, have had injury disaster strike quite often, especially around this time of year.
Puzzling Injuries Have Been a Theme for Philadelphia
Injuries are a part of every sport, but the Flyers have struggled with them significantly in recent memory. Even when the team was successful, players were often injured. Some players grew stronger from it, while others were never the same. This is beginning to develop into a theme for the Flyers.
Before the start of the 2019-20 season, 21-year-old forward Nolan Patrick struggled with a migraine disorder. This came as a surprise, as nothing was mentioned about it before. He had injury concerns coming out of the draft, but this incident was rather sudden and unprecedented. At the time, the rhetoric from management made it sound like he would return that season, and that everything would be fine. But he missed all of that self and was a shell of himself when he returned in 2020-21. He was ultimately traded, which would have made a massive story just a couple of seasons prior. Things changed quickly for the youngster, and injuries unfortunately were the biggest reason why.
The 2021-22 season was miserable on the injury front and led to one of the worst campaigns in franchise history. When Ryan Ellis was acquired in the Patrick trade, he expected to be one of the team’s best defenders, and he was, for the four games he played in the Orange and Black. After suffering a torn psoas muscle, he returned for a single game about a month later. That was the last game he played and could be the last game of his career. Until early in the 2022-23 season, almost nothing was mentioned on this front. It was assumed that he might miss time, but the fact that his injury might be career-ending was not made clear until much later.
Related: Philadelphia Flyers Must Move Past Injury Excuses
Last season, the Flyers lost both Sean Couturier and Atkinson for the entire season. Again, there was no report from management on this issue, and the Flyers’ season essentially ended before it started. There was hope that the two players would return, but week-to-week injuries become month-to-month injuries.
In 2022-23, the Flyers lost three key players for the entire season, including Ellis, Atkinson, and Couturier. Regular roster players who missed 20 or more games solely due to injury include Konecny and James van Riemsdyk. A quarter of the team’s roster was gone for extended periods of time. Hopefully, this doesn’t continue, but long-term issues have occurred nearly every season since 2019-20.
Flyers’ Injuries Could Be a Sign of What Is to Come
If the organization does not address these long-term injury problems, they will continue beyond just this season. Losing star players for an entire season makes it difficult for even the best teams to qualify for the playoffs. If this continues, the Flyers are in store for a long rebuild.
Prospects like Cutter Gauthier and Matvei Michkov will be the ammo for the Flyers’ rebuild. All the hope and optimism around the Flyers would vanish if they did not pan out. In order for the youngsters to be as successful as possible, injury management will have to be as good as it possibly can. Injuries stunt development, and this was put on full display with Patrick. The team needs to handle injuries better if they want to be successful, especially when it comes to their stars. Recently, they have not exemplified an ability to do this.
The Flyers’ current injuries are minor, but they bring back bad memories. Before the season has even started, there is some concern about the team’s top players. This was an issue last season as well. If the injury bug continues, then the Flyers’ turnaround may be put on hold.