In every relationship (professional, friendship, romantic, etc.), there comes a time when you are forced to make a decision. Is it worth continuing, or is it best to cut ties now? If the relationship is faltering, the longer you hold onto it, the harder it can be on you, no matter how much you wish it to be different.
Managing a sports team is much the same. You want to give everyone a fair chance to realize their dreams of playing their game. However, when it isn't working out, difficult decisions have to be made. For the Philadelphia Flyers, the time has come for the team to part ways with Egor Zamula. The thing is, much like a relationship that has been sputtering on fumes, this didn't come as a surprise to anyone.
The signs have been there for a while. First, for a guy who is in his sixth year in the NHL, he's played just 13 games of the 33. Zamula has been a healthy scratch for the last six games and hasn't played since Dec. 7 against the Avalanche. He has just one registered point this season (an assist). While averaging 14 minutes of ice time, he has just two hits, 15 blocked shots, and has committed 10 turnovers.
The writing was on the wall when the Flyers turned to AHL prospect Ty Murchison over Zamula. While Murchison was sent back to the AHL after Rasmus Ristolainen became healthy, he impressed the Flyers' higher-ups. Zamula didn't. In fact, this has been going on for a while.
Zamula had a great story behind him. He was an undrafted player from Russia who broke in with the team in 2020-21. Over the next three years, he appeared in 26 games and showed flashes of what he could be (key word: could). That got him a starting role over the previous two years with John Tortorella.
While he was never expected to be a top-line defender, he showed some promise. In his first full season (2023-24), he scored five goals with 16 assists. He was a +3, blocked 79 shots, and only coughed the puck up 22 times. That's not bad for a young player. He was actually getting time as a second-pair defender.
Then last year happened. He scored two fewer goals, four fewer assists, dropped to a -14 rating, and while he blocked more shots (91), he also turned the puck over 52 times. He became a defensive liability. That hasn't changed much. He made the roster this season mostly because the other guys who expected to take his place were either hurt or just didn't do enough to earn their spots on the team (Helge Grans, Oliver Bonk, and Adam Ginning).
A few weeks ago, Ginning himself was waived. Nobody claimed him, and he was assigned back to Lehigh Valley. Zamula is now facing the same reality. Emil Andrae has started to shape up and become a better defender. Murchison is waiting and has leapfrogged over Zamula. Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, and Ristolainen have their spots on the roster pretty much set in stone. Noah Juulsen is the cagey vet who gets to play from time to time. There is no room for Zamula now.
Zamula is still just 25 and could figure out a way to make it work. He could make the improvements that the team wants and needs him to make. However, his stock within the organization is falling. Even with York injured off and on this year, he couldn't even secure a spot in the lineup. That could have/should have been his opportunity to prove his worth to this team. He couldn't do it. Now, there are other prospects that the team is looking at and is willing to give chances to. Zamula's time in Philly is most likely over.
At the same time, if you've been paying attention to the Flyers, they've begun making a lot of subtle moves on defense since the beginning of this season. In the Ryan Ellis deal, they acquired young defender Artem Guryev. They traded for Christian Kyrou from Dallas. Then they traded for Maxence Guenette from Ottawa. All these moves suggest that the Flyers aren't satisfied with the young defenders they have, and it could suggest a bigger move is coming. With all these signs, it's more of a shocker that Zamula hung on for so long.
Could the team trade him? Maybe, although if you can get him for free right now, why not. At the end of the season, he'll be an RFA. Most likely, he'll be cut. At most, he'd be re-signed on the super cheap-cheap. He might end up becoming a guy who plays his career at the AHL level.
It's not that he's a bad player. He just never improved. He struggles when the Flyers are in their own zone and seems to be too slow in the transition game. These are skills any defender, especially one who has played six years in the NHL, should have honed by now. Maybe he'll get a second chance, but it is unlikely. Either way, we wish him the best of luck. However, the time has come to rip that band-aid off and give someone else a shot.