Flyers make interesting loan move

With the NHL still targeting a January 1st start date for the 2020-21 season, the Philadelphia Flyers have made an interesting move. On Saturday, the team announced on their twitter account that they have loaned forward Michael Raffl to Villacher SV of Austria's highest division, the ICE Hockey League.

Transaction: The Flyers have loaned forward Michael Raffl to Villacher SV of the ICE Hockey League in Austria.— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) November 28, 2020

There are two reasons why this move is interesting. The first is because over the last few months, teams have mainly been loaning prospects and young players, rather than players on their NHL roster. The second reason is because the NHL is still planning to start their next season in just under five weeks, and loaning Raffl this close to a potential season makes it seem like the target date of January 1st could be pushed back.

Another possibility is that Raffl could be back in Austria, and the Flyers are wanting him to get some game action with his hometown team, Villacher SV, prior to training camps that could possibly begin in three weeks.

Raffl, 31, was signed to a one-year entry level contract by the Philadelphia Flyers as an undrafted free agent in June 2013. He's spent his entire seven year NHL career with Philadelphia. Raffl has put up 152 points (78 G, 74 A), 186 penalty minutes, and is a +16 in 470 regular season games. In 28 career playoff games, he's tallied 8 points (5 G, 3 A), 6 penalty minutes, and is a -1.

Internationally, Raffl has represented Austria on numerous occasions, most recently at the 2019 IIHF World Hockey Championships. In 6 games, he had 4 points (4 G), 4 penalty minutes, and was a -5 as Austria finished 16th, being relegated to Division 1A. For his efforts at the tournament, Raffl was named one of the top three players on his team.

Raffl also played for Austria at the 2014 Winter Olympics. In 4 games, he had 3 points (1 G, 2 A), 4 penalty minutes, and was a -4 as Austria finished 10th after losing to Slovenia in the qualification playoff round.

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