The Philadelphia Flyers continue to add to their organization depth on defense, as they signed defenseman Nick Seeler to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level and $300,000 at the AHL level with $350,000 guaranteed.
Seeler did not play at all during the 2020-21 season after the Chicago Blackhawks placed his contact on unconditional waivers for the purpose of mutual termination shortly after Seeler failed to make the team out of training camp. Seeler was assigned to the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs but was waived before playing a game for them.
Seeler is a 28 year-old left-handed defender from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and last played professionally in 2019-20, splitting time between the Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild organization. Seeler appeared in 12 NHL contests between Minnesota and Chicago, recording just one assist in 15 games to accompany a -8 rating and 15 penalty minutes. Seeler also appeared in six games for the AHL’s Iowa Wild, posting two assists in six games there as well.
Seeler was a fifth round draft selection in 2011 after playing collegiately at Nebraska-Omaha, and later Minnesota, by former Wild general manager and current Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher. Seeler is a familiar face for Fletcher and he surely knows what he’s getting out of him.
Seeler has 105 NHL games and 112 AHL games to his credit over his four-season professional career. He has two goals, 10 assists, 100 penalty minutes, and a -2 rating at the NHL level. He also appeared in five Stanley Cup Playoff contests for the Wild in 2018, registering two assists in Minnesota’s first round loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
Seeler is another veteran organizational depth piece that will spend his time with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms and will serve as a mentor to the young defenseman there and is an option for the Flyers to recall in case of an injury to someone at the NHL level.