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Flyers sign restricted free agents Wade Allison, Linus Högberg

The talented Allison, now 24, missed much of last season with ankle, elbow, and knee injuries.

Flyers right wing Wade Allison's development has been hampered the last few seasons by a multitude of injuries.
Flyers right wing Wade Allison's development has been hampered the last few seasons by a multitude of injuries.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

The Flyers signed two of the team’s three remaining restricted free agents on Friday, agreeing to deals with winger Wade Allison and defenseman Linus Högberg.

Allison, 24, has signed a two-year, two-way/one-way deal worth an annual average value of $785,000. Högberg, who turns 24 Sept. 4, is back with the Flyers on a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000. The signings leave 26-year-old forward Hayden Hodgson as the team’s lone remaining restricted free agent.

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The return of Allison is big news, as the talented right winger figures to have a chance to crack new coach John Tortorella’s opening night lineup, especially with Joel Farabee (disc replacement surgery) and Bobby Brink (hip surgery) likely to miss the start of the season. During his career with both the Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Allison has flashed as a goal scorer, but that has been overshadowed by his lack of availability.

A 2016 second-round pick of the Flyers, Allison has four goals and seven points in 15 NHL games. That said, between the AHL and NHL, he played just 29 combined games last season and 24 the season before due to injury.

Last season, Allison played just one game with the Flyers. He missed the start of the season with a high ankle sprain he suffered in a rookie game before later being sidelined by an elbow injury and an MCL sprain. He started the 2020-21 campaign on injured reserve due to ankle surgery. He previously suffered an ACL tear while in college at Western Michigan.

More than a sniper, Allison brings good size at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, and plays a rugged and hardworking game. He had 10 goals and 17 points last season in 28 AHL games with the Phantoms and will be hoping to start a season healthy for the first time since becoming a Flyer.

Högberg, meanwhile, was a pleasant surprise last year after a late-season call-up. The Swedish defenseman got into five games for the Flyers, notching two assists and averaging more than 17 minutes of ice time. Before NHL debut on April 21, Högberg played in 58 games for the Phantoms, registering eight assists and a minus-4 rating.

A fifth-round pick of the Flyers in 2016, he will likely begin the season in Allentown with the Phantoms. Before coming over to North America, Högberg played for the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League, where he won an SHL title in 2018.

Training camp is scheduled to begin in mid-September in Voorhees. The Flyers will open the season Oct. 13 at the Wells Fargo Center against the New Jersey Devils.