Only one hour after acquiring him in the Ryan Ellis trade with the San Jose Sharks, the Philadelphia Flyers have already placed new forward Carl Grundstrom on waivers.
Grundstrom, 27, is in the last year of a two-year, $3.6 million contract he signed with the Sharks on July 4, 2024, meaning the Flyers will not get full cap relief on his $1.8 million AAV if he is assigned to the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
That’s fairly inconsequential, though, as Grundstrom’s remaining $650k cap hit would still be significantly better than the $6.25 million cap hit Ellis would have carried for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.
According to PHLY’s Charlie O’Connor, the Flyers have not yet decided whether Grundstrom will make their NHL roster, but placed the Swede on waivers to give themselves the option to assign him to the AHL if and when needed.
As a reminder, the Flyers must submit their opening night roster to the NHL by 5 p.m. on Monday, so time was of the essence with this particular transaction.
Flyers, Sharks Complete Multi-Player Deal Involving Veteran Defenseman
The Philadelphia Flyers have quietly turned the page on one of the most frustrating “what ifs” in recent franchise memory, trading defenseman Ryan Ellis and a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Artem Guryev and forward Carl Grundstrom.
And, as for what Flyers fans can expect from Grundstrom if he does stick around, the 6-foot forward is a positionally versatile career fourth-liner who loves to play with a physical edge, but won’t do too much else.
The former Toronto Maple Leafs second-round pick was teammates with former Flyers Sean Walker and Cal Petersen with the Los Angeles Kings, and he produced a respectable 12 goals, seven assists, and 19 points in 57 games with L.A. in 2022-23.
If the Flyers decide to keep Grundstrom, it probably also means that they weren’t impressed with one or both of Rodrigo Abols and Jett Luchanko, both of whom are currently on the NHL roster as things stand.
But, until then, the other 31 NHL teams will have the opportunity to claim Grundstrom off waivers from the Flyers for free.
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