Apr 9, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Tyson Foerster (71) shoots and scores his fourth goal on an empty net against the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
Labor Day weekend is an interesting time in the sports calendar.
The start of the NFL season is days away. The pennant races in baseball are in full throttle. The U.S. Open brings it's own daily and nightly drama (and if you don't watch tennis, trust me, you're missing out).
But it's also the unofficial beginning to hockey season.
Sure, Training camp doesn't actually ramp up for a couple weeks, but players have been trickling back to town and doing some unofficial workouts on the ice on their own.
There's been some activity over at the Flyers Training Center in the past few weeks as guys returned from their summers away to get back together and begin the ramp up for training camp, which ought to be an exciting one for Flyers fans as it'll be the first under head coach Rick Tocchet.
But, it's still a couple weeks off. This is the calm before the hockey storm. One final weekend to get away with family and friends before the real work begins in earnest for the 2025-26 season.
Still, there are a few nuggets I'm hearing regarding Tyson Foerster, goaltending battles, how realistic the possibility of Carter Hart returning is, and some other possibilities.
Let's get to them.
The Flyers have gotten very encouraging news on Tyson Foerster this summer. What once seemed like an injury that could keep him out for several months may now be not as long.
However, because Foerster missed almost an entire summer of workouts while getting the infection cleared, the Flyers are going to be cautious with getting him ramped up.
The concern is with his strength at this point, specifically in the arm where the infection was.
He has been cleared to get back on the ice, but the Flyers don't want him to be way behind strength-wise and put himself at risk.
holy moly tyson foerster pic.twitter.com/gQFHcSy1OI
So, they are going to take it slow.
He's got a lot of catching up to do and the Flyers are knocking on wood that he can in time for the start of the season, but nothing is yet guaranteed.
This is far better than where the team expected him to be a couple months ago. There was talk then of him missing half the season. So, it's definitely good news. But the team recognizes they can't rush this last part if they want Foerster to be an important part of the team for most of the season.
The soap opera with goalie Aleksei Kolosov is expected to continue - at least through training camp, if not longer.
Everyone knows how much Kolosov loathed the AHL. That story has been well-documented.
But the guy didn't really show that he deserved to be in the NHL at this time. At the end of the season, there was a hint that he wanted to go back to the KHL, but he's under contract with the Flyers, and they weren't interested in loaning him back to the KHL.
Kolosov was left without a choice. So, according to a Flyers source, they have heard from Kolosov's camp that he will attend training camp and he has softened his stance on playing in the AHL.
Unlike many of his teammates, Kolosov is not back stateside, yet, but the Flyers are expecting him.
That means there will be five goalies in training camp, which seems like one too many.
It's pretty clear that Sam Ersson and Dan Vladar are going to be the NHL tandem, but with three guys for two spots in the AHL, how will it play out?
The organization is bullish on Carson Bjarnason, who will get playing time in the AHL this season. The team views him as part of their future and so they will plan to develop him appropriately.
But that doesn't mean he'll get the bulk of the playing time with Lehigh Valley. Nor does it mean he's the No. 3 guy on the depth chart.
Instead, that will be a camp battle between Koloson and Ivan Fedotov.
Huge save from Aleksei Kolosov. #Flyers have been getting pinned by Colorado to start this one. pic.twitter.com/GdyB5X1DCw
Injuries can change everything, but the Flyers will basically let this play out.
If all five guys make it to the start of the regular season healthy, the Flyers will either carry three goalies on the Phantoms for a time, or they will look to see if they can flip either Fedotov or Kolosov to another team in need of goaltending depth.
Kolosov seems more likely of the two to be moved in that circumstance. He's five years younger and $2.3 million cheaper.
It'll be an interesting camp battle to keep an eye on, although it can all be upended by one other goalie...
This is where there remains a lot of uncertainty.
Ever since Hart and four of his former Team Canada teammates were acquitted of sexual assault charges last month, there's been wild speculation about their potential return to the NHL.
Of the five, Hart is the most high-profile. He's a No. 1 goalie in the NHL. He may not be an All-Star, but he's certainly a guy who can play the majority of games for a team.
That's why there would be a lot of interest in his services if he were allowed to be signed - including by the Flyers.
That said, the NHL has instructed teams not to try to sign any of these players until they complete it's review of the judge's ruling and the case.
In short, the league feels that further punishment is warranted. The NHL Players' Association thinks otherwise.
So, there are some high stakes, backroom conversations going on between the union and the league.
What can the two sides agree on that would make sense?
The NHLPA may agree to some sort of suspension - maybe half a season, or similar - assuming the league allows the players to sign with teams before training camp begins, be able to workout with teams during the suspension, and that they are suspended with pay.
The league would want to assert it's authority to not set a precedent and to make those who argue that being not guilty and being innocent are two different things, accepting of the league's actions.
Assuming that an agreement between parties can be reached in the next couple weeks, Hart will easily be a prime target.
He's likely the only player of the five who could potentially be offered a deal longer than a Professional Try Out (PTO) or for more than one year.
And while he could look at Philadelphia as a somewhat soft landing spot - because of his familiarity with the organization, it should also be pointed out that he hasn't worked for 20 months - so he's likely going to take the best deal for himself.
And there are plenty of teams with enough cap space to sign him, so it's a level playing field.
Hart also has to consider how much scrutiny he will face at a new destination, and how much he's willing to deal with that. If he wants to avoid it, then maybe Philadelphia isn't the best fit for him.
There are rumors flying around about several teams. Edmonton is one of the top ones you hear, because Hart has been training there. but may not be realistic.
Carter Hart is a "non-starter" for the Edmonton Oilers as the five former Hockey Canada players acquitted of sexual assault remain ineligible to play in the NHL (w/ @frank_seravalli) pic.twitter.com/4FNDVaYRAA
It makes sense why these rumors fly, because from a hockey perspective, he's a good fit in a lot of places. But from a P.R. perspective, teams, including the Flyers, need to decide how much that juice is worth the squeeze.
But if they do decide it is, and if Hart wants to pick up where he left off, then everything would be completely upended in goal throughout the entire organization.
We talked about this a lot today on Snow the Goalie:
