Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher says focus for injured players like Sean Couturier, Ryan Ellis, and likely Kevin Hayes is now 2022-23 season

The “Philadelphia Phantoms” are here to stay. Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher announced Friday that Sean Couturier is out for the season, and that the chances of getting Ryan Ellis and Kevin Hayes back are getting smaller, meaning there are two permanent spots that players called up from the AHL will have to fill.

As of Friday, Couturier was the only one who has taken the surgery route -- the center underwent successful back surgery on Friday. Fletcher said they’re trying to avoid that step with both Ellis and Hayes. They’ve looked at “different rehabs and treatments” for Ellis, who suffered a lower-body injury in the preseason and has played just four games since. He’s done “everything he can,” and Fletcher said they’ll have to make a decision in the coming weeks.

“We’re starting to get to a point in the year, though, where obviously his health is first and foremost, and the second issue would be making sure he’s ready for next year,” Fletcher said about Ellis.

He then repeated that same message when discussing Hayes’ situation. Hayes has already had two abdominal surgeries and had fluid drained from his adductor on Jan. 18. At the time, the Flyers said he could return in three to four weeks, but now, Fletcher said he “may need some additional work done,” meaning another surgery.

“It’s been certainly a lot going on in that area for him, core muscle and groin, everything,” Fletcher said. “I think with Kevin, it’s 50-50 that he can come back and play [this season].”

» READ MORE: Flyers center Sean Couturier out for the season after undergoing successful back surgery

The Flyers are carrying 12 healthy forwards. Four of them — Max Willman, Gerry Mayhew, Connor Bunnaman, and Isaac Ratcliffe — have been called up from the Phantoms. With Couturier shut down for the year and Hayes potentially joining him, one or two of those spots will remain open even after Joel Farabee and Patrick Brown return.

Farabee, who was placed on injured reserve Jan. 18 with an upper-body injury, was expected back in four weeks. Brown was placed on injured reserve with an MCL sprain Jan. 12 and was also expected back in four weeks. There has been no recent update on Nate Thompson, who was injured Nov. 26.

With the Flyers unlikely to turn their season around and make a playoff run, does that mean they’ll start looking at young players to see what they have for the future?

“Well, we have been,” Fletcher said. “Out of necessity, a lot of players have had that opportunity.”

While bringing them up to the NHL might give the Flyers an idea of where their prospects are, leaving them in the AHL gives them more time to develop, Fletcher said. And their long-term development is the priority.

That’s why Fletcher said he recently decided to send forward Morgan Frost and defenseman Cam York back to the Phantoms. While he said Frost showed he was getting “better and better” and York showed he can handle a lot of situations, Fletcher feels the AHL will be a better environment for them to grow in. Their decreased minutes in recent games also played a factor in his decision.

“For me, it’s just about playing, getting a lot of reps,” Fletcher said. “We’re not in a rush.”

“[Lehigh Valley]’s just a great learning and winning environment down there right now, which I think is very beneficial for those kids on that team.”

The Phantoms received more positive injury updates than the Flyers. Tanner Laczynski, who has been out all season with a left hip injury, has been skating and is expected back in a week. Ryan Fitzgerald, out with a lower-body injury, should return the following week. Tyson Foerster was never expected to return this season after undergoing shoulder surgery, but his rehab is going well, and everything’s “trending the right way,” Fletcher said. They expect him back for the start of next season.

The prospects who have been playing elsewhere are also showing good signs. Fletcher pointed out that Bobby Brink, a junior at the University of Denver, is the top scorer in the NCAA, and Noah Cates, a senior at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, just scored an Olympic goal in Team USA’s opener.

Ronnie Attard, a junior at Western Michigan, has been one of the top college defensemen. Twenty-five-year-old goalie Ivan Fedotov has recorded back-to-back shutouts in the Olympics for the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). Elliot Desnoyers, who is playing junior hockey for the Halifax Mooseheads, had a four-goal night on Feb. 8.

“All these kids are knocking on the door and are more than ready to start their professional experience with the Flyers and we’re looking forward to that infusion of talent as well as what we hope to add here in the next few months,” Fletcher said.

» READ MORE: Against the Detroit Red Wings, the Flyers got an up-close look at what could be their future selves

Those additions could come via trade before the March 21 deadline, with captain Claude Giroux obviously the team’s biggest potential trade chip. If Giroux, who has a no-move clause, and the Flyers agree to part ways the Flyers would recoup some prospects and/or draft capital. The team also has a decision to make on soon-to-be-free-agent defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, as well as a few others.

Fletcher revealed that those talks “started really about last week” and will only continue to ramp up.

“We’re going to have five days of meetings to get organized for the next couple months,” said Fletcher. “Usually coming out of those meetings, the level of communication increases, and that’s what we’re starting to see.”