Matt Walker is known to many as “the guy who went to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Simon Gagne trade.” He won’t get an opportunity to prove that he’s much more than that anytime soon, as hip surgery will reportedly keep the big defenseman out 10-12 weeks.
So it’s not exactly a tragedy for the Flyers, considering how low he is on the team’s totem pole. Tim Panaccio points out that Walker will probably go on the injured reserve, but not the LTIR because Michael Leighton is already taking up that spot.
Walker will undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip, as well as, a “boney impingement,” Holmgren said Tuesday. The surgery is scheduled for Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn., by noted orthopedic and hip specialist, Thomas Byrd.
Walker, who was the seventh or eighth defenseman in training camp depending on what day it was, will miss 10-12 weeks, Holmgren said.
So it’s not exactly a tragedy for the Flyers, considering how low he is on the team’s totem pole. Tim Panaccio points out that Walker will probably go on the injured reserve, but not the LTIR because Michael Leighton is already taking up that spot.
Walker’s salary cap hit is $1.7 million this season, so Philadelphia will get a little cap relief to move some pieces around if they see fit. Again, he wasn’t likely to get more than the occasional start anyway, so it’s not a major loss for Philly.