VOORHEES, N.J. — Decision time is around the corner for Ryan Ellis and the Flyers.
The one decision on his status for this season sounds all but made.
The top-pair defenseman is likely done for the rest of the 2021-22 campaign. After being acquired in an offseason trade, Ellis has played in only four games for the Flyers because of a lower-body injury, which appears to be to the hip/groin area.
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The other decision the club has to make is whether Ellis will undergo surgery, something it has been looking to avoid.
"That's what we've been trying to do," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said Friday. "If Ryan does have surgery, whether it was two months ago or now, it'll knock him out for the season. We've been trying to avoid surgery and look at different ways of rehabbing and treatment to allow him to play.
"We're starting to get to a point in the year, though, where obviously his health is first and foremost and the second issue would be making sure he's ready for next year. We're getting close to that point.
"I just spoke with Ryan about 20 minutes ago. He's worked hard, he's done everything he can and we'll see where we're at. In the next few weeks, we'll have to make a decision."
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If and however Ellis is shut down, he'd join Sean Couturier, who underwent season-ending back surgery Friday. That would be 33 combined games this season from the team's biggest offseason acquisition and its first-line center. Crippling, all-situation losses for the Flyers, who are 15-23-8 and set to "aggressively retool."
"He is a very, very strong player on both sides of the puck," Flyers interim head coach Mike Yeo said of Ellis last month. "When you don't have a guy like that in your lineup, you feel it defensively and you also see it in the execution part of our game. The game that we want to play, we want to play a fast game, we want to get on the attack, we want to get to the offensive zone. He's a guy that helps you do those things."
Ellis played in the Flyers' first three games of the season. Then, after missing nine games, the 31-year-old suffered a reinjury in his return to the lineup Nov. 13. He originally sustained the injury in the Flyers' preseason finale Oct. 8.
In his four games, Ellis logged 22:48 minutes per game, five points (one goal, four assists) and a plus-2 rating.
It has been a dark and disappointing first season in Philadelphia for Ellis.
"It's been terrible for him," Fletcher said. "We go on the road, he stays behind. He comes in early to get his rehab done, so you don't even feel like you're a part of the team. I know there's been a lot of frustration from Ryan.
"What's ailing him this year hasn't ailed him before, so it's hard to know how these things happen. He's dealing with it the best he can. At this point, really, our focus is on next year and trying to do what's best for him and for our club going forward."
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When Fletcher traded for Ellis, the Flyers envisioned him forming a bona-fide, minutes-eating top defensive pair with Ivan Provorov. In the small sample together, the duo looked good.
Ellis is under contract for the next five seasons with an annual cap hit of $6.250 million.
"It looked like they had the ability to have good chemistry," Fletcher said. "He's an all-situation player — he plays power play, penalty kill, he plays late in a game when you're up a goal, late in a game when you're down a goal. He's an impactful player when healthy and playing to his ability. We'll have to use the limited viewings that we had of he and Provy to sort of guide us for what we think they can bring next year."
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