Flyers place Ryan Johansen on waivers to terminate his contract, cite "terminal breach"

It was never likely that Ryan Johansen would ever play a game for the Philadelphia Flyers. Now, it’s a certainty.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Flyers announced that they placed Ryan Johansen on unconditional waivers, with the aim of terminating the final year of his contract, citing a “material breach.” Johansen had one more season remaining on his eight-year, $64 million deal, with a $4 million cap hit charged to the Flyers in 2024-25, and $4 million remaining on the Nashville Predators’ books.

Johansen was acquired by the Flyers from the Colorado Avalanche in the Sean Walker trade on March 6, and then immediately placed on waivers. He cleared waivers, and the Flyers then explored trade options prior to the deadline, informing teams that they were willing to retain salary in order to move him elsewhere, but found no takers. The Flyers then planned to send Johansen to their AHL affiliate (the Lehigh Valley Phantoms).

But they were unable to reassign him to the AHL — or gain the $1.15 million in salary cap relief that would have came with a demotion — because Johansen claimed he was unable to play due to injury, reported to be a hip injury. It was that injury that also prevented the Flyers from having the option to buy out Ryan Johansen this summer, due to the NHL rule that injured players cannot be bought out.

While the Flyers did not specify the nature of the “material breach,” presumably, it is related to Johansen’s claim of being injured and unable to play.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Johansen is expected to file a grievance regarding the Flyers’ efforts to terminate his contract, which would essentially tear up the deal and relieve the Flyers (and Predators) of any further financial or cap responsibilities regarding Johansen. So while today’s news essentially guarantees that Johansen will never suit up for the Flyers, this saga is far from over and is likely headed to arbitration for the final decision on whether the Flyers can successfully terminate Johansen’s contract.

Our in-depth breakdown of the Johansen contract termination can be read here, and is available to PHLY Diehard members only.