Former Canuck Antoine Roussel joins Flyers on PTO while Eriksson and Beagle remain unsigned

Former Vancouver Canuck Antoine Roussel is joining the Philadelphia Flyers on a professional tryout contract (PTO) according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.

Former Canucks general manager Jim Benning signed Roussel as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2018 to a four year contract with an annual average value of $3 million.

Roussel battled injuries toward the end of his Canucks tenure, but became a fan-favourite of sorts due to his ability to get under the skin of his opponent and even chip in offensively every once in a while.

Last offseason, Roussel was traded to the Arizona Coyotes along with Jay Beagle and Loui Eriksson — and the 2021 ninth overall pick, a 2022 second, and a 2023 seventh round pick for good measure — in exchange for Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland.

As a member of the Coyotes last season, Roussel scored four goals and added four helpers through 53 games while tallying 59 total penalty minutes.

A PTO doesn’t guarantee an NHL contract by any means, but the 32-year-old Roussel is the only player of the three former Canucks-turned Coyotes that has an NHL home for training camp at the very least.

Eriksson, whose six-year $36 million Canucks contract finally came to an end this offseason, tallied three goals and 16 assists with the Coyotes last season, while Beagle recorded one goal and one assist through 33 games last season.

At 36 and 37 years of age, respectively, Beagle and Eriksson’s one-year stint with the Coyotes last season may end up being the last NHL season of their careers while Roussel gets ready to show up to Flyers camp and work to earn an NHL contract for the season.