Flyers Continue To Trim Roster, Place Cal Petersen, Tanner Laczynski on Waivers

The Flyers' final 23-player roster is due Monday.

The Philadelphia Flyers have made another round of cuts.

Tuesday afternoon, the Flyers announced goaltender Cal Petersen and forward Tanner Laczynski were placed on waivers. Neither Petersen or Laczynski suited up for the Flyers' preseason victory over the Boston Bruins at Wells Fargo Center Monday night.

Petersen's removal from the roster is particularly notable. While he was not the favorite to earn a spot on the Flyers' opening-night roster, he was very much in the running for the open backup goalie job behind Carter Hart. Petersen struggled early in the preseason, though, allowing five goals on 24 shots against the New Jersey Devils in the preseason opener. He bounced back nicely with a 16-save showing against the Bruins on Friday, but he evidently did not instill enough confidence in the coaching staff to warrant being given a roster spot.

Given his $5 million cap hit, it is unlikely Petersen will be claimed off waivers.

With Petersen out of the picture, the backup goalie battle comes down to Felix Sandstrom and Sam Ersson. Both have performed well throughout the preseason, though Ersson may have the slight edge after a strong, 13-save showing in Monday night's victory.

However, throwing a wrench into things is the simple fact that Ersson is waiver exempt, meaning the Flyers would not risk losing him to another team if he were sent down to Lehigh Valley to start the regular season. Sandstrom, meanwhile, is not waiver exempt, and it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that a goalie-needy team could scoop him up for nothing if the Flyers were to release him from the roster.

Flyers head coach John Tortorella told the media Monday that the roster for Thursday's preseason finale will be very close to the lineup he'll ice for the season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 12. It's unclear if Ersson or Sandstrom will see action in the preseason finale, but if they do, there could be a job on the line.

The Flyers' final 23-player roster is due at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, October 9.