According to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic, Wisconsin defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk will be signing an entry level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks WILL be signing Wisconsin defenseman (and former Flyers draft pick) Wyatt Kalynuk to an entry-level deal, per two league sources. One college source said the swift-skating Kalynuk reminded him “a bit of Nick Leddy.”
Story: https://t.co/bWyXJ5JV7w pic.twitter.com/GWkP5YKmgO
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) July 6, 2020
This report comes just over a week after we learned that the Flyers no longer held sole-negotiation rights, but could still potentially be in the mix. It now seems that his decision has been made, and that is no longer the case.
The Blackhawks offer an easier path to the NHL for Kalynuk, who would have been competing with the likes of young up-and-comers Egor Zamula and Cam York, among others, in the near future to join an already young — and good — Flyers defensive corps. It’s not hard to imagine a scenario that would have Kalynuk on Chicago’s opening night roster next season, which would have been hard to imagine here in Philadelphia.
While this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, it is a bit bothersome to potentially miss out on a 7th-round gem. Nevertheless, the Flyers will move on, and are still set on the back-end for years to come.
