Egor Zamula had a chance for a fresh start with Rick Tocchet. Entering the final year of his contract, it was time to prove once and for all that he deserved to be a part of the Flyers' future.
But it hasn't gone exactly to plan. Zamula continues to be plagued by the same issues that have followed him for years. And it begs the question: when do the Flyers cut ties with a player that hasn't developed in their system?
It took a few years for the organization to move on from a player like Morgan Frost, who showed similar consistency issues despite multiple chances. The same fate may find Zamula, and there are multiple reasons to believe his time is coming soon.
Rasmus Ristolainen's return
Rasmus Ristolainen has been practicing with the team recently and will be traveling during their upcoming road trip. Once healthy, he will return to the lineup. Whether that's to boost his value or to play for his future, he won't be held out. With his addition, that doesn't just mean that someone will need to come out of the lineup. With the Flyers at almost full health on the backend, they are currently holding seven defensemen.
Add Ristolainen back, and that brings them to eight. Some coaches like to carry eight defensemen, but it limits their flexibility on offense. If they don't get rid of a defenseman, someone like Carl Grundstrom will have to go back down since they are at the roster limit. That would leave them without any extra forwards.
So the decision is going to come on defense. With Zamula's inconsistency and his propensity for mistakes, the Flyers could finally pull the trigger on waivers. It's unlikely that he would get claimed, and even if he does, that solves the problem altogether.
Ty Murchison's emergence
The more likely scenario upon Ristolainen's return is that Ty Murchison will be sent back to Lehigh Valley. And while that isn't necessarily a bad move, his play in a limited sample size was encouraging. His willingness to block shots and not be intimidated by who he's playing against was evident. He had five blocks and averaged 15 minutes of ice time, meaning the Flyers weren't afraid to put him out there.
Murchison looked like a rookie in his final game, however. He made a particularly risky cross-ice pass that was intercepted and later turned into a goal by the Hurricanes on Saturday. That's a hard lesson he'll have to learn and something, with time, he'll realize he'll need to pick his spots with.
Even if the Flyers end up sending him down, Murchison proved himself to be a capable option, potentially changing his place on the depth chart. Getting the nod over someone like Adam Ginning, who had been the de facto depth call-up, shows the Flyers have taken a liking to what Murchison has done. Add in the fact that the team trusted a player making his NHL debut over Zamula leads us to the biggest reason.
Opportunities haven't been taken
Zamula was signed by the Flyers as a free agent in 2018, making his NHL debut at the end of the 2020-21 season. He appeared in 24 games combined in the next two seasons before becoming a semi-regular in 2023-24. Zamula has played in 168 career games, and the results have been a mixed bag. He hasn't provided enough offense to be counted on, and he doesn't play a hard or physical game.
In a league where an opportunity is earned and not given, Zamula has hardly done enough to lock down a roster spot. On a Flyers defense that has been in flux during the first few months, there have been plenty of chances for multiple defensemen to take control and set themselves above the rest. Zamula has appeared in fewer than half of the Flyers' 31 games.
It's not that Zamula needs to become someone he's not. But when a player stands out more for the mistakes he makes, something has to give. And at some point, it has been enough time. The Flyers have recently added some defensemen to their pool, and the early results are paying off. It's only a matter of time before more players jump Zamula on the depth chart. The Flyers may need to realize sooner rather than later that it's time to move on.