Ryan Ellis’s first season in Philadelphia hasn’t been one to remember. After being acquired in a trade with the Predators last summer, Ellis has only played four games with the orange & black this season. Although it hasn’t been made official yet, it looks like Ellis will be missing the remainder of the year due to injury.
Ellis, 31, was acquired to play on the top defensive pair alongside Ivan Provorov. Ellis is a solid all-around defenseman. He can pass, shoot, and play both on the power-play and penalty kill. The former 1st-round pick has 275 points in 566 games played.
During his four games played this season, Ellis was very noticeable on the blue line. Provorov and Ellis were building solid chemistry with each other and looked unbeatable. Ellis had tallied 5 points in his four games played (1G, 4A). It looked like a promising year for the new defenseman.
Injury History
Ellis has had multiple injuries in his playing career that have caused him to miss 20+ games more than once. He had knee surgery in the 2017 off-season which sidelined him for the first 38 games of the 2017-18 season. He suffered a concussion during the 2020 Winter Classic which caused him to miss 20 games. Then in his final season with the Predators, he broke a knuckle on his left hand which made him sit out 21 games.
Ellis never had any lingering lower-body injuries in his career like what he is experiencing now in his hip/groin area.
Any signs of potential return?
Ellis has skated a few times since his injury, but not much recently. The last few times he’s skated, he hasn’t been pushing himself hard enough to look like a return could be on the table in the near future.
Looking Ahead
The Flyers sit last in the Metropolitan Division (16-27-10 – 42pts), with 29 games remaining. The best thing moving forward for Ellis and the Flyers would be shutting him down for the remainder of the season.
Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire
The Flyers are not in the playoff hunt, and having Ellis focus on his recovery would be the most important thing heading into next season.
We all know what Ellis can do when he’s healthy. Having him and Provorov back together at 100% next season would be vital for the team.
