A quality option for the Maple Leafs at 3C has suddenly become available
With the Philadelphia Flyers attempting to terminate Ryan Johansen's contract, should everything be resolved, he could be a perfect fit for the Maple Leafs in their top-9.
The Flyers acquired Johansen from the Colorado Avalanche ahead of the trade deadline alongside a first round pick in 2025 for Sean Walker. Johansen had one year remaining beyond 2023-24 but things unraveled upon his arrival. He never ended up suiting up for the Flyers due to an unspecified injury and even at the end-of-year presser, general manager Daniel Briere was unaware of what the issue could be.
Fast forward to today when the Flyers announced that they had placed Johansen on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract due to a "material breach".
The situation appears to be a tricky one to navigate, but according to Elliotte Friedman, the issue at hand is not related to anything that would mark him as a legitimate risk for a new team. Johansen is claiming an injury prevented him from playing for the Flyers, to which the club doesn't believe that's the case. Friedman also added that the Flyers will be presenting their case if asked to do so.
The end result will be the same for the other 31 clubs, meaning that at some point Johansen will be relieved of his contract from the Flyers one way or the other and will be free to join another team should he be healthy and ready to do so. That's where contenders like the Toronto Maple Leafs can enter the conversation and try to bolster their roster by swooping in and nabbing Johansen at a reduced rate.
For all intents and purposes, should Johansen be free from the Flyers and raring to sign with a new team, he will likely be doing so on a league minimum contract, or close to it, for the remainder of the 2024-25 season, similarly to Corey Perry when he joined the Edmonton Oilers last year or even when the Maple Leafs signed Matt Murray after all his injuries.
Johansen still has some juice left, considering he did suit up in 63 games for the Avalanche before the trade to Philadelphia. He did endure one of his worst offensive seasons in his 13-year career with just 13 goals and 23 points but placed in the right situation, he can still score upwards of 15 goals, net 40 points, playing 15 minutes a night. He can also win well over 50% of his face-offs, and kill penalties to boot.
Source for stats: Hockey ReferenceRyan Johansen player profile
| POLL | ||
20 AOUT | 1860 ANSWERS A quality option for the Maple Leafs at 3C has suddenly become available Would you sign Ryan Johansen to a league minimum contract if you were Brad Treliving? | ||
| Yes, high-risk, high-reward | 1171 | 63 % |
| No, it might be too much of a headache | 689 | 37 % |
| List of polls | ||
