The Philadelphia Flyers have placed Garrett Wilson on waivers, a move that appears set up to send the forward back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms if he clears.
If that happens, the Flyers can reassign Wilson tomorrow and open up a spot on a 23-man roster that is currently full.
The decision fits the direction Philadelphia has taken during its early-season youth push. The Flyers stumbled out of the gate with the worst opening in the NHL, losing their first nine games.
After finally picking up their first win on Oct. 17, the club brought up three forwards - Alex Bump, Cole Knuble, and Jacob Gaucher - and all three have stayed in the lineup since then. Wilson was in the Flyers’ last game before those recalls, but he has since been a healthy scratch for every game that followed.
At least for now, Bump and Knuble look like the ones who have taken hold of the opening that Wilson left behind. Knuble made that case loudly just last night, scoring twice to power Philadelphia past the Buffalo Sabres.
Wilson brings a very different profile than the younger forwards around him. At 35, he has far more NHL and AHL experience than Bump or Knuble, but the Flyers seem more interested in upside and energy as they dig out of their rough start. With their playoff odds already taking a major hit, roster spots are increasingly being directed toward younger players who can grow with the team.
Even so, Wilson was never projected to spend much of the 2026-27 season in the NHL. He has been the Phantoms’ captain for the last three seasons and owns more than 750 career AHL games. In that span since the start of the 2020s, he has appeared in only five NHL games.
Wilson’s game has long leaned on aggression and physicality, and he has been the AHL’s most-penalized player twice. He was once a dependable middle-six scorer at the AHL level, but that part of his game tailed off badly last season.
In 2025-26, Wilson put up just four goals and 16 points in 54 games after recording 14 goals and 28 points the year before. He should still be an important veteran presence for Lehigh Valley, but his role as one of the team’s steadier offensive threats looks to be fading.
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