Philadelphia Flyers winger Owen Tippett had to miss the entire second round of the playoffs due to injury and it was a complete mystery until now.
In a letter to fans from the player himself that was released by the Flyers on Tuesday morning, Tippett revealed that he was unable to play in the second round against the Carolina Hurricanes due to an internal bleeding issue that he sustained while playing in the first round against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Philadelphia Flyers have issued the following statement on behalf of forward Owen Tippett. https://t.co/Ex8FRdsc3G pic.twitter.com/ncOgFNGSku
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) May 12, 2026
Tippett played in all six games of the first round, scoring a goal and earning an assist, but was absent for some team practices throughout the series. The general explanation was that he was banged up with something and needed all the time off the ice he could get, so then he could be ready for puck drop.
Throughout the second series against the Hurricanes, Tippett was seen at multiple practices and morning skates, but as the player himself talks about, it was an injury that prevented him from playing in any of the actual games.
“Following a series of medical evaluations, treatments, and rehabilitation under the care of Flyers medical team, I am making progress and feeling better each day,” Tippett wrote in his letter. “Despite being cleared to travel and skate with the team at certain practices, things did not progress at a pace that I hoped for or would allow me to safely continue playing.”
After the Flyers were eliminated, it was reported that Tippett was dealing with a sports hernia, in addition to other injuries that kept him out of the series. Now we know it was truly something serious — but he’s already working his way back and has a timeline for his recovery.
“I am beyond proud of what our team has accomplished this season and truly moved by the tremendous support of the fans. I want to sincerely thank everyone for that support — both personally for me and my family, as well as our entire medical and performance staff.
“I am confident for a full recovery and look forward to returning for training camp in September and an exciting year ahead for this organization.”
Well, that’s good news. Recovery of a sports hernia alone can take up to 12 weeks, so factor in the internal bleeding situation he now has to deal with, and any other ailments that he picked up along the way in 87 total games played this season and postseason, hearing that he will be fully recovered in time for training camp is a positive sign.
Owen Tippett meant a lot to the Flyers this season
Now we head into an offseason that should put him back on the right track and to build off a very positive season for the 27-year-old winger.
Tippett provided an all-around impact for the Flyers this season, finally using his large frame to his advantage to bully some opponents around, while also scoring 28 goals and 51 points. While giving a whole lot of offense and tying Matvei Michkov and Christian Dvorak as the Flyers’ third-highest leading scorer, Tippett did a whole lot of work on the defensive side of his game, even getting some shifts on the penalty kill.
He unfortunately could not bring that impact to the second round of the playoffs, but Tippett or not, the Flyers were probably going to lose that series and learn some lessons from an overall successful season.
