Daniel Brière Accuses Avalanche Of Hiding Injury To Player Before Major Trade

One of the more surprising moves of the trade deadline came when the Flyers traded defenseman Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 1st round draft pick and center Ryan Johansen.

The Flyers were known to be shopping Walker, so his trade was not surprising in itself. The fact that Ryan Johansen was included was odd though necessary for the Avs to remain cap compliant. However, his inclusion now may have long-term consequences for the team.

Apparently, Johansen has been dealing with an ongoing back injury this season. The Flyers were not made aware of this prior to the trade according to sources within the organization.

This is particularly damaging for the Avalanche as they would have been required to report the injury prior to the deal going through. Furthermore, Johansen should have had to pass a physical before the trade was completed. For the Flyers, this meant that they could not send him to the AHL as they had planned. Players that are injured are not eligible to be waived and sent to the American Hockey League.

This means that the Flyers were stuck with the entirety of Johansen's 4 million dollar cap hit at the deadline, a fact that limited what the team could do afterwards. As such, the Avalanche could potentially face a punishment in the form of a cap penalty or draft pick loss due to the team subverting the rules at the trade deadline.

As seen on Daniel Briere Makes Major Accusations Against the Colorado Avalanche