Latest Flyers Roster Move Creates Intrigue Amid Injury Crisis

Even though the Philadelphia Flyers are badly hurting due to injuries, especially at forward, they just created some intrigue by cutting loose more healthy bodies than they replace them with. 

On Sunday, shortly after the conclusion of the Flyers' practice session, head coach Rick Tocchet revealed that forwards Tyson Foerster and Sean Couturier are game-time decisions ahead of Monday night's game against the Colorado Avalanche.

They join a growing list of Flyers players ailing and out of the lineup, with Travis Konecny, Cam York, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Owen Tippett all injured at the moment as well.

Later Sunday, the Flyers placed York on injured reserve, creating a free roster space, while sending forward Jack Studnicka and defenseman Helge Grans to the AHL.

The only corresponding move the Flyers made was calling up defenseman Hunter McDonald, a 6-foot-4, 240 pound defenseman who made his NHL debut last season against Montreal, recording an assist, a +3 rating, and four penalty minutes.

With the 24-year-old McDonald now on the roster, the Flyers still have two free roster spots available for use, though it's curious that they haven't made use of them just yet.

For instance, in Studnicka's case, the journeyman had recently overtaken the fourth-line center position with Couturier moving up higher in the lineup, as the Flyers preferred Studnicka at center over the versatile Noel Acciari.

Including Tippett, Foerster, and Couturier, the Flyers have 12 forwards on their roster, and they would assuredly need to call up at least one forward to help close the gap.

What are the Flyers' options?

Perhaps Travis Konecny, who is now eligible to return from injured reserve after missing seven days of action, is ready to hit the ice, though he wasn't spotted at practice on Sunday.

If needed, players like Jett Luchanko and Alex Bump are candidates to be called up by the Flyers, though, again, it's interesting they haven't already done so.

Bump, 22, would be especially interesting given that he has seven goals in five AHL games this season, including an overtime winner on Saturday night.

It's no secret the Flyers are starved for offense, and Bump would easily be the most deserving candidate for a call-up amongst the forwards.

Luchanko, with six points in six games, has been no slouch either, but the Flyers may prefer their top center prospect to have more development time in the AHL rather than serve as a band-aid solution for a rash of injuries for a game or two.

As for someone like Carl Grundstrom, the Swede was unavailable for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms due to personal reasons on Saturday night, so he might not be an option for the Flyers at the moment.

Other veterans in the AHL, like Nolan Foote and Danila Klimovich, are banged up and likely unavailable, too.

Also of note, the NHL no longer allows paper transactions, so Studnicka must return to the AHL and report for at least one game before he returns to the NHL; the Flyers can't assess Tippett, Foerster, and Couturier and then decide that they need Studnicka back for the Avalanche game.

This latest roster move from the Flyers is clearly a precursor to something more, though it is just unclear what that is at this time.