Flyers make cutthroat decision with former top 5 draft pick due to personal issues

At this year's trade deadline, the Colorado Avalanche and Philadelphia Flyers completed what's turning out to be one of the most fascinating trades of the year. The Avalanche acquired Sean Walker from the Flyers, and sent a conditional first round pick and former star centreman Ryan Johansen. Shortly after the trade, reports surfaced that Johansen was causing problems in the dressing room in Colorado, and things are off to a bad start in Philly now as well.

According to Adrian Dater, Johansen was causing some frustration among the core players, which led to his departure at the deadline. He didn't quite live up to expectations either, just scoring 13 goals and 23 points in 63 games. Now in Philadelphia though, Johansen is already on the wrong end of some off ice issues. In a report from Elliotte Friedman today, Johansen has a difficult relationship with John Tortorella, and is represented by the same agent as Cutter Gauthier who recently refused to be a Flyer.




The Flyers have sent Johansen to the AHL's Leigh Valley Phantoms now, and GM Danny Briere has even commented that he doesn't foresee a future for Johansen with the Flyers. It's abundantly clear that the team was only taking on his contract to make the trade work, and has no actual interest in Johansen, even for the team surpassingly competing for the playoffs.

It seems that Johansen has found himself earning a tough reputation around the league, and has had a run of being in environments he doesn't quite fit in. After being drafted 4th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010 and putting up impressive seasons early in his career, Johansen fell off a cliff in recent years, and now may face a tough battle to get back into the NHL. He's signed to a contract for this year and next year at a value of $8M.