There is a sense that defenseman Ryan Ellis’ career may be over. Ellis, who was selected in the first round of the 2009 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators, was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in July of 2021, but it looks like he will never wear their uniform again. Flyers President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones addressed Ellis’s status Thursday and it sounds like the blue liner could have played his final NHL game.
“We all wish for Ryan just as a human being, because I’ve been through that at the end of my career when there’s uncertainty about whether you would come back or not and then dealing with the reality of not coming back. It’s a tough time. It’s a very really difficult time. I’m very sympathetic to what he’s gone through.”
Jones added: “I think that he’s exhausting everything that he can in order to play, like we all do. You never want to have the void of not doing something that you’d love to do. He did it very effectively when he played so it’s got to be really difficult.”
Since being traded, Ellis has only been able to play 91 minutes as a Flyer due to injury and spent most of his tenure on injured reserve.
Ellis, who still has four years remaining on his contract with an AAV of $6,250,000, Ellis led all defensemen in goals (16) and racked up 38 points in the Predators’ most successful seasons in franchise history as they reached the Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017. He added five goals and 18 points in that postseason run. However, he battled many injuries in 2018 and unfortunately, it’s been downhill from there.
We could get the update soon enough that Ellis is officially hanging up the skates.
