James van Riemsdyk Has Surgery On Finger, Will Miss 6+ Weeks
By Scott Cole
This week, Flyers fans got some upsetting injury news. First, Sean Couturier had to have back surgery. The Flyers forward, who hasn’t played since December of 2021, is likely to miss most of this season, depending on how his recovery goes. Now, James van Riemsdyk is the latest to have surgery on his broken finger.
JVR was one of the players that came in under a cloud this season. It was no secret that the Flyers have been shopping him around the league for the last few seasons and have been unsuccessful. There were plenty of rumors that the Flyers were trying to get rid him in an effort to be able to sign Johnny Gaudreau. Likewise, there was the notion that he may or may not fit in with John Tortorella’s style of coaching.
For the first two weeks of the season, JVR got rid of all of the doubts. In six games, he scored two goals and had five assists. He seemed to be the JVR of old; and with Couturier and Cam Atkinson out, his veteran leadership was greatly needed.
Then he broke his finger in Sunday night’s game against the Sharks. As he left the ice, it was hoped that his absence wouldn’t be that long. That is not to be. Estimates put his recovery at 6-8 weeks. That would place him coming back sometime around New Years.
It’s not a lot of time that will be missed, but that will be close to 30 games. Coming up, the Flyers’ schedule gets considerably harder with the Canes, Rangers, Leafs, Sens, and Blues all in the next 10 days. It’s going to be hard to miss van Riemsdyk’s production as he was tied for fifth on the team with Joel Farabee.
So, now the Flyers are down Couturier, JVR, Atkinson, Ryan Ellis, Bobby Brink, and Patrick Brown. I don’t know if there is a limit to how many players can be on injured reserve, but the Flyers have got to be getting close to it!
For JVR, the injury news is a double-whammy. If the Flyers were looking to move him at the trade deadline, he won’t bring much in as few teams would want to acquire a 33 year old, recently injured player with declining skills. Likewise, as an unrestricted free agent, he won’t command much on the open market; or at least not as much as the Flyers were paying for him.
And while the news is bad for van Riemsdyk. it gives an opportunity for the Flyers younger players to showcase their talents. Local prospect Evan Barratt, recently acquired in a trade, might be able to crack the team. Former first rounder Kieffer Bellows can get some playing time. Lukas Sedlak, another new Flyer with ties to Coach Torts, can also get some playing time. For a team that was looking to give younger/newer players an opportunity to play, this is it.
For van Riemsdyk, we just have to hope his recovery goes well and that the Flyers are still playing competitively by the time he returns. If all goes well, he can contribute to a team that is in contention.