The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Antoine Roussel to a PTO (professional tryout contract).
Who is Antoine Roussel?
Antoine Roussel, 32, has played in 607 NHL games with the Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, and Arizona Coyotes. Roussel has scored 197 points (85G, 112A) during his NHL tenure. He’s also accumulated 1,063 penalty minutes throughout his career.
Roussel’s highest scoring season was during 2018-2019 with Vancouver when he scored 31 points (9G, 22A) in 65 games. Since then, Roussel has yet to reach fifteen points in a season.
Roussel has seen some success as a bottom-six winger at the NHL level, but his production has dropped off mightily since 2018-2019. He averaged 12:09 minutes of ice time with Arizona last season and saw a portion of time as a healthy scratch.
Being “harder to play against” has been Philadelphia’s mantra throughout the offseason. It’s gone into effect with the signing of Nicolas Deslauriers and the re-signing of Zack MacEwen. Roussel fits the “harder to play against” bill.
A PTO for Roussel could benefit the remaining time he has left in his career, and he could potentially become a 13th forward for Philadelphia if he impresses enough during training camp. If Philadelphia decides to sign Roussel to a contract, it could mean pushing down a young forward to the AHL.
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