The Flyers sent Hunter McDonald back to the AHL ahead of tonight's game against Utah, and the timing stings for a team sitting 30th.
Philadelphia needed a roster spot with Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny coming off injured reserve. According to The Hockey News, McDonald was the one who lost his place, with Jacob Gaucher already back at Lehigh Valley.
Tippett is listed on IR with an upper-body injury and an expected return of Nov. 1 at the earliest. Konecny, out with a lower-body injury, is listed as out until at least Nov. 3, and you can read Rick Tocchet's update on Konecny and Tippett for the latest on that front.
McDonald, 24, played five games in a depth role on the bottom pair. He finished without a point, a -2 rating and 10 penalty minutes, and the penalty minutes were the whole point of his game.
The Hockey News points to his second game of the year against Buffalo. The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder laid an open-ice hit on Ryan McLeod, Mattias Samuelsson chased him down the ice to fight, and Samuelsson's instigator penalty handed the Flyers a power play while they protected a 3-1 lead.
He did it again against Anaheim. Sam Colangelo took a roughing call, A.J. Greer picked up an instigating penalty, and the Flyers got a 5-on-3.
Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone scored on the ensuing chances for a 2-0 lead. Philadelphia still lost that game 5-4 in regulation, but those two goals came directly off McDonald's work.
Simon Benoit is back while David Jiricek waits
Simon Benoit returns to the lineup for the first time since the Buffalo game, per The Hockey News. He has played 10 games this season with no points and a -5 rating.
The other side of the blue line is the louder problem. David Jiricek, the 22-year-old who went sixth overall in 2022, would sit for a fifth straight game if he's a healthy scratch tonight, according to The Hockey News. Tocchet already put David Jiricek on notice publicly on Saturday.
Philadelphia is 3-8-4 with a goal differential of -22 and has lost three straight. A club that keeps talking about a youth movement is sending out the 28-year-old Benoit and sitting a former top-six pick, and that's a bad look when the standings leave no cover.
Oliver Bonk, 21, has five assists in nine games and Cam York is at -8 through seven. The blue line is clearly unsettled, and the McDonald decision does nothing to settle it.
The Flyers drop the puck against Utah tonight with Tippett's and Konecny's return dates both still estimates.
