The Philadelphia Flyers announced on Oct. 6 – the day after their final preseason game – that they are placing Wade Allison on waivers in a bit of a shocking move. The former second-round pick’s future with the Flyers is now in serious doubt.
Allison will first need to clear waives with none of the 31 other teams making a claim before being able report to Lehigh Valley to start the season. However, I fully believe Allison will be picked up by a team looking for a player of his skill set who can play on the fourth line.
Unfortunately, for Wade Allison, he dealt with injuries and the pandemic. Losing a full season of development definitely can hurt your chances of making an NHL roster and as we can currently see, he has been usurped by the younger players.
Whenever it felt like Allison was finally playing well for an extended period of time, there always seemed to be a setback. Allison was always one of those players that you can get behind as a Flyers fan because of his play and work ethic on the ice.
Last season, the Flyers gave Allison the opportunity to prove he belonged on this roster and in the NHL. In 60 games, Allison scored nine goals and had six assists. However, he once again missed a good chunk of the season due to injury.
While Allison has a good skill set, Danny Briere and John Tortorella didn’t think he had a strong enough camp to out play some of the youth on their way up. With Garnet Hathaway and Ryan Poehling coming into camp, it created more battles and made less spots available.
While Allison had a decent camp, the big question mark will always remain around his health and whether or not he has what it takes to play a full season at the NHL level. If Allison clears waivers, he will most likely get a chance at some point during the season to once again prove he belongs with the Flyers.
However, a guy like Allison more than likely isn’t going to clear waivers. There are plenty of teams who could use a fourth liner with the tenacity and skill that he brings. I fully believe that Allison will be on an NHL roster to start the season.
Allison has 24 hours to clear waivers. In that time span, depending on the waiver order, at least one team that really needs him will scoop him up. If that is the case, I, like many of the Flyers fanbase, wish him nothing but luck in the future.