The Colorado Avalanche got off the hook on Tuesday as a decision was handed down in the Ryan Johansen arbitration case, The Athletic reported.
An independent arbitrator ruled that the Philadelphia Flyers did not wrongfully terminate Johansen’s contract in August 2024. The Flyers cited a “material breach” as the basis for terminating the final year of Johansen’s contract. He was owed $8 million. But due to the termination, Johansen forfeited that amount.
Johansen argued that he could not play due to a hip injury that required surgery. So, he filed a grievance through the NHLPA.
Initially, the Flyers and the Avalanche agreed to pay equal shares of Johansen’s $8 million salary. But with the arbitration decision now completed, neither team is liable for any payments.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that Johansen and the Flyers had a hearing back in February. However, no agreement was reached.
It’s worth noting that the Avalanche were dragged into the mess as the Avs traded Johansen to the Flyers in March 2024. The trade was what dragged the Avalanche into the mess.
The trade landed Sean Walker in Colorado with Johansen and a first-round pick going back to Philly. That situation forced the Avalanche into the picture. Presumably, the Avalanche traded Johansen while he was already injured.
If that had been the case, however, the league could have nixed the deal unless the Flyers were aware of the situation. Moreover, it was evident that Johansen was a cap dump for the Avalanche. The Flyers made that clear by placing him on waivers the day after the trade.
Johansen failed to report to the Flyers’ AHL affiliate. He did not show up to Flyers’ training camp this past season despite receiving an invitation to attend.
All told, Johansen played 63 games with the Colorado Avalanche. He scored 13 goals and 23 points in that stretch. However, his largely underwhelming performance was unbecoming of his $8 million cap hit. So, the Avs felt compelled to dump his contract on the Flyers. In return, the Avs got a solid depth defenseman at the expense of a first-round contract.
Avalanche first-round pick turned into Bill Zonnon
The Flyers traded the conditional first-round pick from the Johansen trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The pick was top-10 protected, meaning that, if the pick landed in the top 10, it would slide to 2026. However, the pick ended up becoming the 22nd overall selection. So, the Flyers kept the pick.
The Flyers flipped it to the Penguins, along with the 31st overall pick, in exchange for the 12th overall pick.
With the Avalanche’s original pick, the Penguins took Bill Zonnon with the pick. The selection effectively closed that end of the Johansen trade. However, the trade remains unresolved as the Avalanche got the Flyers’ sixth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. So, there is still one more loose end on the Avalanche’s end of the Ryan Johansen deal.