The Philadelphia Flyers are expected to be without one of their mainstay blueliners to begin the new season. On Thursday, head coach John Tortorella told the media that defenseman Nick Seeler is considered day-to-day due to injury.
Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco said that he will be unavailable for the team’s season opener on Thursday night against the Vancouver Canucks.
Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer was the first to report that the Flyers are calling up a defenseman from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Multiple reporters expect Emil Andrae to be the player that will join Philadelphia. Spiegel reports that Andrae would report to the Flyers for their game on Saturday night against the Calgary Flames.
Seeler hasn’t practiced over the last week since suffering an injury during one of the Flyers’ last preseason games. In a game against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 1, the 31-year-old took a puck to the knee. He has attempted to skate a few times since then, but it didn’t last long enough for him to participate with the rest of the team.
Spiegel mentioned seeing Seeler walking without a limp outside of practice on Thursday.
Seeler has had a couple of respectable seasons with the Flyers. The former Chicago Blackhawk posted a career-high 14 points during the 2022-23 campaign before registering a goal and 12 assists for 13 points in 71 games last season. In 2023-24, Seeler registered a plus/minus of +9, which led the Flyers by the end of the year.
His play earned him a four-year, $2.4 million AAV contract extension with Philly that kicks in this season.
In 296 games, including parts of three seasons with the Minnesota Wild, Seeler has scored eight goals and 34 assists for 42 points, with a +5 rating. He also played five playoff games with the Wild during the 2018 postseason, registering two assists.
Andrae came to North America in 2022-23 after a couple of years playing pro in his native Sweden. He made his NHL debut with the Flyers last season, appearing in four games with a -1 rating. In 61 games with the Phantoms in 2023-24, the 22-year-old notched five goals and 27 assists for 32 points.
