Although the Flyers already knew they would be without the services of star wing Tyson Foerster for a considerable length of time, the news on Wednesday had to be particularly sobering.
The team announced on Wednesday that Foerster underwent arm surgery this past Monday and will need approximately five months of recovery time.
That means he will be out of action for the remainder of the regular season.
No doubt it’s a blow to a team attempting to end a five-year playoff drought.
Foerster suffered the injury back on Dec. 1 in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
At the time of the mishap, Foerster was leading the team in goals scored with 10.
The original diagnosis had Foerster being sidelined for two to three months so Wednesday’s news was a bit more troubling.
The 23-year-old Foerster was the Flyers’ first-round pick (23rd overall) in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
A native of Alliston, Ontario, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound right wing broke into NHL play near the end of the 2022-23 season in which he played eight games, registering three goals/seven points.
Since then he has posted totals of 20 goals/33 points in 77 games for 2023-24 and 25 goals/43 points in 81 games for 2024-25.
Late last season he produced his first three-goal hat trick in an 8-5 win at the New York Rangers.
Coach Rick Tocchet indicated Foerster will be missed. It will be up to offensive-minded players to fill in the void left by the loss of a key player.
“Yeah, it’s the old committee, the next man up,” Tocchet said after Wednesday’s practice in Buffalo. “Everybody has to play five- or 10-percent better. . .it’s a cliché but it’s true.
“With certain guys, you hope they get hot for you.”
The Flyers do have a league-leading eight players with at least seven goals so that balance will come in handy during Foerster’s absence.
“It’s tough to overcome (Foerster’s absence),” the coach said. “As I’ve said, Tyson is a hockey player. He’s a shooter, he’s intelligent, he’s one of the first PK (penalty kill) guys out there. He’s obviously really good on the power play.
“It takes a big chunk out of your lineup. So it’s a committee thing and hopefully we have some guys who step up while he’s out.”
>Ristolainen feels good about return
Rasmus Ristolainen made it through his first game in nearly nine months on Tuesday night vs. Montreal. He underwent three surgeries on his elbow over that time period.
“Pretty bad infection which I played with for multiple weeks (last season),” he disclosed after Wednesday’s practice. “I couldn’t do too much about it so there was no point in being down. Just look down the road, work hard and get it to where it was before.”
First time back, how did it feel?
“Almost felt like the first game (of his career) in some ways,” he said. “A long time to be out of the game and happy the first one is over so I can focus on hockey.”
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