Injured Flyers defenseman Ryan Ellis unlikely to play this season, according to Chuck Fletcher

Ellis, 31, played just four games last season for the Flyers, with what Fletcher revealed Thursday is an issue relating to his psoas, hip, and adductor.

Flyers defenseman Ryan Ellis skates against the Boston Bruins in a preseason game on Monday, October 4, 2021 in Philadelphia.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

by Gustav Elvin

Published Sept. 22, 2022, 10:34 a.m. ET

On July 17, 2021, after landing Ryan Ellis from the Nashville Predators in a three-way trade, the Flyers were confident they had acquired a bona fide top-pair defenseman and the perfect partner for Ivan Provorov.

For the first three games of last season, they looked to be right. Ellis scored points (a goal and three assists), compiled a plus-three rating, and the Flyers started 2-0-1. Ellis wound up playing just one more game (Nov. 13 vs. Dallas) for the rest of the season with a mysterious injury.

On Thursday, general manager Chuck Fletcher told the media on the first day of training camp at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, that Ellis, 31, is unlikely to play this season either.

“Ryan Ellis is out indefinitely,” Fletcher said. “No timetable for his return to play. ... You know, my assumption is he won’t play the season. If he does, it’ll be a bonus. And that’s how we’ve prepared this offseason by making the additions we did on the blue line.”

Fletcher also provided the best insight into the injury revealing that it involves Ellis’ psoas, hip, and adductor and that there is a “possibility” it could threaten the remainder of his career.

The statement from Fletcher comes after months of speculation about Ellis’ health, with few updates and an unwillingness to put a timetable on Ellis’ potential return.

Back on April 30 in his exit interview, Ellis described the injury as a “multilayered” issue in his “pelvic region,” but he sounded optimistic with a rehab plan in place.

“My whole life has been built around playing hockey, and that got taken away from me; it’s been draining,” Ellis said at the time. “With the plan we have and the steps we’re going to take in order to get back ready for next year, I haven’t been this excited in months because I finally have an approach and a path clear to go.”

Things have not gone as planned as Ellis remains sidelined indefinitely.

“The rehab, there’s been ebbs and flows,” Fletcher said Thursday. “I think he made progress earlier in the summer. I would say the last two months. There haven’t been any visible signs of progress. It’s been a frustrating injury. Nobody’s more frustrated than Ryan. Nobody wants to play more than Ryan. But we’re dealing with reality now, and he’s not skating. So clearly, he’s a long way away from playing.”

The Flyers acquired defenseman Tony DeAngelo from the Carolina Hurricanes and also brought back veteran blueliner Justin Braun this offseason with Ellis’ status uncertain.