The Philadelphia Flyers released their training camp roster today and along with Antoine Roussel, whose PTO was reported yesterday, they will also be bringing Artem Anisimov to camp on a tryout contract. Nolan Maier, Pat Nagle, and Tyler Wall are the other PTOs for the Flyers, all goaltenders who will be helping fill the crease for the next few weeks.
Anisimov, 34, has a history with new Flyers head coach John Tortorella going back to when both were with the New York Rangers. The veteran forward made his name there and was a key depth piece during their Conference Finals run in 2012. Anisimov then went to the Columbus Blue Jackets (though not at the same time as Tortorella), the Chicago Blackhawks, and appeared to have finished his NHL career with the Ottawa Senators.
After playing in just 19 games with the Senators in 2020-21, Anisimov played last season back in Russia, suiting up for his hometown team in Yaroslavl. That seemed a likely place for him to continue, with his NHL saga behind him.
Not so fast, as he’ll try to show he can still compete at that level and earn an NHL contract. There was a time when Anisimov was a solid two-way center that you could rely on for 20 goals and around 40 points, though that seems like quite a while ago now. The last time he broke that 20-goal mark was in 2017-18 with the Blackhawks, and even then he had just 31 points on the year.
There’s basically no risk to bringing him to camp though, and at the very least he will help fill up the veteran minimums for preseason contests. Perhaps there’s still something left in the tank, too, after he scored 19 points in 27 games for Yaroslavl last season.
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