At the onset of free agency, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that forward Tyson Foerster would be out indefinitely due to an infection on his elbow and that he could miss all of training camp as well as the start of the regular season.
Things have been relatively quiet on the injury front since – including Rasmus Ristolainen, who was also expected to miss training camp – however a recent report from Flyers official website contributor and Hockey Hot Stove writer Bill Meltzer shined a positive light on the situation.
Meltzer mentioned that Foerster has been feeling a lot better as of late and that GM Daniel Brière believes he could be ready in time for the regular season. After having signed a 2-year deal this summer, that’s exactly the type of news the Flyers needed at this juncture of the offseason.
Foerster initially suffered an arm injury when he was representing Canada at the IIHF World Championships this spring. He missed one game before returning but the Flyers believed it wasn’t anything serious. Upon returning from Sweden and Denmark, it was revealed that Foerster had an infection on his elbow that put his status in question.
Meltzer adds that Brière didn’t deem him to be 100% healthy but things are a lot better today than initially expected. His treatment plan was touch and go and so far things are looking good for his chances of being ready in time. Foerster still has about a month until training camp starts and another month from the beginning of the regular season.
The Alliston, Ontario native enjoyed a solid sophomore season that saw him finish with 25 goals and 43 points in 81 games after scoring 20 goals and 33 points in his rookie season. It was a bit of a dry campaign offensively until Foerster exploded for 9 goals in his final 9 games but his defensive game and off the puck metrics remained high.
The 23-year-old signed a 2-year deal this summer worth $3.75 million per season, allowing both player and team to grow into his contract and prove his worth before cashing in on his next deal with the cap continuously rising.
Foerster formed a rather formidable trio with Noah Cates and Bobby Brink last year and they were rewarded for their efforts as being one of the best lines in hockey. If healthy in time for their regular season opener on the 9th of October, they could look to improve on their efforts from last year, but it remains to be seen how new head coach Rick Tocchet will set up his lineup.
Initially feared to be missing game action until December or January, Foerster is on track to beat that timeline and return anywhere between September and October. The recent report sounds pretty optimistic that even if he’s not ready for the opener, he shouldn’t be too far out from a return later in the month.
If he can string more consistent performances this year and take a lot more shots than his 142 from the previous season, we could see Foerster hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his young career. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, considering he had a 17.6 shooting percentage last year and shot 12 percent during his rookie season.
