The Philadelphia Flyers organization is a proud one, and most players who don the orange and black sweater are honored to wear it. Not everything works out perfectly, though. There are instances where the team lamented its decision to bring the player on board.
So these are five players who, regrettably, were Flyers.
Ryan Ellis
In 2021, the Flyers acquired Ryan Ellis via trade with the Nashville Predators. At the time, it seemed like a good move. His time in Philly was off to an amazing start, but it ended as quickly as it began. After four games and five points with the organization, he tore his psoas, a deep core muscle that connects the spine, pelvis, and femur.
Both the organization and the fan base saw the injury as clouded in mystery, with questions about whether the injury was even real. Needless to say, he should be given the benefit of the doubt, as it sounds like he had been in a lot of pain and had trouble with some everyday activities.
From a business perspective, this became a bitter pill to swallow. Ellis signed a contract extension of $50 million between 2019-27. Ellis never formally retired, so his contract remains on the books through the end of the 2026-27 season with a cap hit of $6.25 million.
Ilya Bryzgalov
The Flyers traded a 2012 third-round draft pick and Matt Clackson to the Phoenix Coyotes for the rights to the pending unrestricted free agent. The Russian netminder signed a nine-year, $51 million contract just a year after the tandem of Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton took the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals.
All of this was humongous, especially considering that the Coyotes had claimed Bryzgalov off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks just a few years earlier. He turned out to be a funny guy, but his comic relief outweighed his actual goaltending abilities.
Two years later, nearly to the day, the Flyers bought out the final seven years of the goalie’s contract. It saved the team roughly $6 million in cap space, but the team continues to pay him over $1.6 million annually through 2027.
Kevin Hayes
The Flyers signed forward Kevin Hayes to a seven-year, $50 million deal that continues to run from 2019-20 through this upcoming 2025-26 season. That deal came with a modified no-trade clause and carried a cap hit of $7,142,858. Things started decently in Philadelphia for the forward. He registered modest numbers in his first regular season, followed by a strong postseason of 13 points in 16 games.
It all went downhill from there. His numbers dropped and he had a falling out with then coach John Tortorella. Hayes bounced back with 54 points in the 2022-23 season. The Flyers traded the unhappy forward to the St. Louis Blues for a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and the team retained 50% of his contract. A cap hit of roughly $3.6 million will remain on the books through the 2025-26 season.
There were rumors that Hayes had contact with prospect Cutter Gauthier, which some believe played a role in Gauthier's decision to avoid signing with the team.
Cam Atkinson
The Flyers acquired Atkinson via trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for beloved winger Jakub Voracek before the start of the 2021-22 season. Atkinson had a good first year in Philadelphia, registering 50 points in 73 games, but missed the following season due to a herniated disk.
His final season in Philadelphia was a lackluster one, and rumors swirled that, like Hayes, he and Tortorella had their differences of opinion. However, each spoke highly of the other in the end.
After the 2023-24 season, the Flyers bought out the last year of Atkinson’s contract. The 2025-26 season will be his last on Philly’s books, with a $1.76 million cap hit.
Vincent Lecavalier
The Tampa Bay Lightning bought out Vincent Lecavalier’s contract at the end of the 2012-13 season. The 33-year-old center immediately inked a five-year deal worth $22.5 million to join the Flyers. This included a no-movement clause, which the Flyers, at the time, handed out like candy.
The former first-overall pick played 133 games for the Flyers over parts of three seasons and registered 58 points during that period. During the 2015-16 season, the Flyers traded Lecavalier and Luke Schenn to the Los Angeles Kings for Jordan Weal and a third-round pick.
Except Lecavalier, the Flyers are still absorbing some kind of cap hit from the rest of these deals. As each contract comes off the books, the team will continue to gain more cap space that they will use wisely. Hopefully.