Those hoping to see Philadelphia Flyers winger Travis Konecny back in action again this spring will have to wait until training camp and the preseason.
According to TSN NHL insider Darren Dreger, Konecny has elected not to represent Canada at the upcoming IIHF World Championships, which will take place from May 10 to May 26 in Prague, Czechia.
Konecny played in all but six of the Flyers’ 82 regular season games this season, posting a career-high 33 goals, 35 assists, and 68 points. The 27-year-old was forced to miss some time in late February with an upper-body injury, and when Konecny came back, he just wasn’t quite the same player as before.
Upon returning for the Flyers, Konecny went six consecutive games without a goal, scored in three of his next four games after that, and then hit another six-game scoring slump in the middle of the Flyers’ season-ending eight-game losing streak.
For Konecny and the Flyers, it is probably in the best interest of the two-time NHL All-Star to spend the upcoming offseason relaxing, recovering, and getting back to 100%. Unquestionably the Flyers’ MVP this season, Konecny had some moments of indecisiveness mixed with a lack of speed and execution.
These were all uncharacteristic of him, but he, Joel Farabee, and other players in the Flyers’ top-six all had to go through this as the team struggled down the stretch.
The reason for Konecny skipping out on the World Championships has not been specified, though that is ultimately secondary to the outcome of his invitation. Perhaps Canada would view Owen Tippett as a worthy replacement if Tippett is willing to go.
It is currently unclear if any other Flyers players were invited to represent their countries at the World Championships next month.
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