Apr 15, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Tyson Foerster (71) skates back to the bench as Columbus Blue Jackets celebrate a goal during the second period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
VOORHEES, N.J. - The Flyers are holding their breath on Tuesday, but there is some real concern that they could be without a key player for a good chunk of time to start the 2025-26 season.
According to multiple sources, On Pattison has learned that winger Tyson Foerster recently suffered an offseason injury that could keep him out of the lineup for a significant stretch of time to start the season.
We originally reported it at a bicep injury, but Flyers G.M. Danny Briere clarified that it was a serious infection near his elbow that resulted from a minor injury suffered during the World Championships.
"What I'm finding out is it takes a long time for the samples to come back negative, so that's what we're still waiting on," Briere said. "We'll re-evaluate and see if more needs to be done, or if we're lucky enough, that's the end of it and we can move on and be ready for the start of the season, but there's no guarantee of that."
Foerster flew to Vancouver on Monday to see a specialist and the Flyers are still awaiting his report, but one source said, "We are hoping for the best, although it's not looking great right now."
There is a belief that if the injury is as bad as feared, that Foerster could miss upwards of three months of the season, however no one wanted to commit to that timeline until they had the latest medical reports.
It's a tough blow for the Flyers, who recently signed the 24-year-old winger to a two-year, $7.5 million extension.
Foerster is coming off his second full-season in the NHL where he posted 25 goals and 43 points in 81 games, and flashed some excellent two-way play on a line with Noah Cates and Bobby Brink, a line that the Flyers were excited about keeping together as a strong two-way third line next season.
With the knowledge of Foerster's injury, the Flyers were trying to add a winger to replace him early on Tuesday, and the team made a pitch to Corey Perry, but Perry passed and signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings worth $3.5 million.
The Flyers did make three small signings in free agency on Tuesday, landing former Calgary goalie Dan Vladar for two years, $6.7 million, former Montreal center Christian Dvorak on a 1-year, $5.4 million deal, and former Vancouver defenseman Noah Juulsen on a one-year, $900,000 deal.
Both Dvorak and Juulsen have previously played for new head coach Rick Tocchet. Juulsen the last two seasons in Vancouver, and Dvorak when Tocchet was coach of the Arizona Coyotes.
The Flyers later added former Ottawa defenseman Dennis Gilbert to a one-year, $875,000 deal and former Edmonton center Lane Pederson on a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000. Both of those players are considered depth.
Briere said Vladar will compete with the other goalies for the starting job in net.
"He has a chance to be our number one," Briere said. "At the end of the year, when I met with our group of goalies, I told them, 'You have to be ready at training camp.' I said, 'That wasn't good enough last season. We're probably going to go out and bring in some reinforcements and you're going to be in a battle - all you guys.' So, it was clear from the get-go."
As for replacing Foerster, the Flyers will look at potential internal options to replace him after failing to find a replacement that made sense in free agency.
"He's not going to miss the whole year - or I hope he's not going to miss the whole year," Briere said. "You're going to need that money at some point. We have some young guys that maybe if he does have to miss some of the season, maybe they step up. Maybe it's Alex Bump. Maybe it's Porter Martone. (Devin) Kaplan played at the end of the year for us. ... We just didn't feel we could spend (Foerster's) money not knowing how long he's going to be out."
Either way, not having Foerster is certain to hurt the team's goal scoring production and put a crimp in the plans for that third line for a significant amount of time.
The one possible addition that's still out there is Maxim Shabanov - who was expected to make a decision on Tuesday, but appears to be holding off for a day.
The Flyers still remain the favorite to land him, but several teams - including both New York Squads and the Utah Mammoth - have apparently entered the conversation.
Whether that's just Shabanov's agency pitting teams against each other or not (the main contract would be the same for every team, but bonus money could be different) remains to be seen.
"Like you guys, I read the stories and I get excited when I'm being told that he's signed with the Flyers, it just hasn't happened yet. ... We're waiting. We're hopeful. We were told we're one of the few teams he's considering still.
"We're hopeful that he chooses the Flyers."
