Philadelphia Flyers: Sam Morin’s injury could carry over into next season

During the Lehigh Valley Phantoms historic quintuple overtime playoff win, an injury to Sam Morin almost went under the radar. Morin will require knee surgery, which effectively ends his season.

If not for a recurring “nagging” injury, the 2017-18 season may have been Sam Morin‘s breakout year for the Philadelphia Flyers. In November, Morin played in back-to-back games against the New York Islanders and was eventually returned to the Phantoms with an undisclosed injury.

That minor injury plagued Morin all season, restricting him to only 15 games with the Phantoms. In those 15 games, Morin put up seven points, with only one being a goal.

Morin could be facing an extended recovery time after the reported knee surgery that could last up to six months. That recovery time will put a dent in the beginning of next season, keeping him from participating in training camp.

If he isn’t healthy to start the season, the Flyers will likely keep Morin on injured reserve. He will have to go through waivers to re-join the Phantoms, and the Flyers risk losing him to another team for nothing.

The Flyers large adult defenseman is also in need of a new contract to keep him in Philadelphia.

Depth defensemen dropping like flies

In past seasons, injury news like this would mean Morin dropping further down the Flyers depth chart behind defensemen like Brandon Manning. This season though, the Flyers won’t have the chance to bury Morin under mediocre veterans.

There is no more room for stop-gap defenders anymore. The biggest obstacle to Morin’s addition would have been Manning, who has become a favorite of coach Dave Hakstol’s. Luckily, Hextall has decided to move on in favor of moving the prospects up.

With Morin’s injury, it was a vague possibility that Hextall would bring Manning back, but The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor believes this will just open the door for Phillipe Myers, as discussed below.

"“However, my guess is that Manning is still on the way out even if Morin misses extended time next season. Hextall noted in his exit interview that Myers — Philadelphia’s top defenseman prospect — is close to being NHL-ready as well, so the Morin news probably does nothing but accelerate Myers’ timeline, not force a re-evaluation of Manning’s contract status.”"

In a move that is not as noteworthy, the Flyers will also be moving on from Johnny Oduya. After claiming Oduya off of waivers from the Ottawa Senators, the Flyers only played him one game this season. Hextall gave Oduya the same speech that Manning got, The Flyers are moving on.

The only other sixth or seventh level defenseman who played for the Flyers was Mark Alt, who was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 26.

Alt had zero goals or assists in his eight appearances with the Flyers last season, and was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2010. It is safe to assume that Alt was never part of the Flyers future plans. Alt is now on a two year deal with the Avalanche.

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With the depth defensemen cleared out from the roster, Morin should only have to compete with his fellow prospects for a spot. It’s also a possibility that T.J. Brennan gets a shot in the NHL in Morin’s absence.