No one would have expected Ryan Johansen to play for the Flyers, but now it seems certain.

The Flyers placed the 32-year-old forward on an unconditional release list on Tuesday to finish the final year of his contract. The club cited a material violation as the reason and will have no further comment.

Johansen’s contract was acquired by the Flyers to facilitate the trade of Sean Walker in March. Walker was traded to the Avalanche in a deal that netted the Flyers a first-round draft pick.

After the deal was finalized, the Flyers placed Johansen on waivers and he was unclaimed. According to a report from Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, he never played for the Flyers’ AHL affiliate team, Lehigh Valley, due to a hip injury.

Johansen had played one game with Colorado two days before the trade, and when the Flyers signed him, it was clear that they did not consider him a part of their present or future.

“In the case of Ryan Johansen, all I can tell you is that I don’t expect him to come back,” Flyers general manager Danny Briere said at his season-ending press conference in April. “I don’t know the exact situation. We’re managing his medical situation. I think the most important thing for him is to get him back to playing condition. Right now, he doesn’t think he can play hockey. I wish I had a better answer for you, but we need to get him back to being healthy to find out if there’s even a chance he’ll compete for the organization at any level.”

Johansen would begin this season on an expiring contract that has a salary cap hit of $4 million. The Flyers would obviously welcome the salary cap relief from his contract. According to a report from TSN’s Chris Johnston, there are early signs that Johansen will file a grievance with the NHLPA. According to Johnston, this could lead to a negotiated settlement.

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