On the same day that Ryan Johansen was traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Philadelphia Flyers, he was somewhat surprisingly waived on Wednesday afternoon, per The Athletic's Chris Johnston.
Johansen was one of four players to hit the wire, along with Will Lockwood (Florida Panthers), Jacob Moverare (Los Angeles Kings) and Jaret Anderson-Dolan (Kings). Obviously, the 31-year-old Johansen is the big name, as he was involved in a trade not an hour before.
The Avalanche made a huge splash on Wednesday, acquiring Sean Walker from the Flyers and sending back a 2025 first-round selection, along with Johansen. It was clear that he was never part of the Flyers' either short or long-term plans, and he'll be forced to report to the American Hockey League — unless he is claimed by a different NHL club.
Over 63 games with the Avs in 2023-24, Johansen has been good for just 13 goals and 23 points. He was unable to fill the vacant 2C role in Denver after being acquired from the Nashville Predators, and like with Tomas Tatar earlier this year, Colorado's brass had seen enough.
Johansen was on pace for just 30 points over a full 82-game slate; it's disappointing considering he has scored at least 60 points five times in a season throughout his career.
His best campaign came in 2014-15, when he put up 71 points with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He'll now likely play out the season in the AHL, although he has another year left on his deal at $4 million AAV.
Avalanche staying busy
The Avs made a couple of huge moves on Wednesday, first bringing a stalwart defender in Flyers' Sean Walker to town before swapping Bowen Byram for Casey Mittelstadt in a shocking one-for-one deal not long after.
Mittelstadt, a longtime Buffalo Sabres forward, is having a career year with 14 goals and 33 assists over 62 games. He'll be expected to jump into the 2C role that Ryan Johansen was unable to fill effectively. The front office is hoping that the position will now be properly filled as the team looks ahead to the postseason.
For Ryan Johansen, in what has been a miserable campaign, he'll likely look to find his game with the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
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