Emil Andrae demoted by Flyers, sent to Lehigh Valley prior to roster freeze

The NHL roster freeze took effect on 11:59 PM EST last night. The Philadelphia Flyers apparently got one final move in just before the buzzer.

And it’s a move that is sure to spark lots of debate in fan circles.

22-year old rookie defenseman Emil Andrae was sent down to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms just hours after he made his return to the Flyers lineup on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings. It’s actually his second demotion of the season, as he spent time with the team on their season-opening road trip as the club’s No. 7 defenseman before heading back to Allentown shortly after the team returned.

This demotion, however, warrants far more scrutiny.

In the wake of his second recall on October 26, Andrae quickly emerged as a heavy-minutes defenseman for the Flyers, clearing the 20-minute mark on seven separate occasions while largely serving in a second-pair role. In 20 games with the big club, Andrae produced one goal and five points, while also posting sterling advanced metrics at 5-on-5 — a 60.84 percent Expected Goals For percentage (per Evolving-Hockey) and a 55.13 percent Corsi For Percentage.

But in the wake of last Tuesday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, head coach John Tortorella made the decision to scratch Andrae for what he evaluated as declining play. Andrae sat out Thursday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings — and then the healthy scratches continued, as Andrae continued to sit on Saturday vs. Minnesota and Wednesday in a rematch against Detroit.

Andrae did return to the Flyers lineup on Thursday night, but Tortorella made it clear in his pregame comments that his return was driven by a desire to remove Cam York from the lineup due to poor play, not a specific desire to get Andrae back in. And while Andrae’s underlying 5-on-5 numbers were strong against the Kings (72.31 percent on-ice xG share), he made his fair share of mistakes in coverage as well — most notably a poor angle on Alex Turcotte in rush coverage in the lead-up to Anze Kopitar’s game-clinching goal.

Removing Andrae from the roster leaves the Flyers with 22 healthy players on their NHL roster, and it does give general manager Daniel Briere the flexibility to make a recall during the roster freeze. Demotions are not permitted during the freeze — which lasts through 12:01 AM EST on December 28 — but recalls are allowed, and given the fact that the Flyers have only 12 healthy forwards, a rash of injuries at that position in Saturday’s game against Columbus could have put the Flyers in a tough spot for the December 21 game versus the Penguins. Now, they have the ability to call up a forward if needed.

Andrae’s stay in the minors could be brief, a move driven almost entirely by salary cap and roster concerns surrounding the freeze. That said, there’s no guarantee that Andrae will return on December 28 for the team’s “Disney on Ice” holiday road trip, especially given Tortorella’s recent usage of the young blueliner. He very well may have to earn his way back to the NHL, despite his objectively strong results in his first extended stint with the big club.

For now, however, Andrae will ply his trade in the AHL, and will be an option for Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere in tonight’s game against the Toronto Marlies.

Read a more in-depth breakdown of the Andrae demotion at ALLPHLY.com here.