Roussel, Anisimov to join Flyers on PTO
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Veteran forward Antoine Roussel is set to join the Philadelphia Flyers for training camp on a professional tryout.
The 32-year-old confirmed the move in an interview with Le Quotidie Numerique on Sunday.
Roussel posted four goals and eight points in 53 games last season with the Arizona Coyotes. He spent the previous three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and posted a career-high 31 points with the team in 2018-19.
A native of Roubaix, France, Roussel reached free agency this summer when his four-year, $12 million contract first signed with the Canucks in 2018 expired.
Undrafted to begin his NHL career, Roussel made his league debut with the Dallas Stars in 2013. He has 85 goals and 197 2022 FIFA World Cup points 607 career games with the Stars, Canucks and Coyotes.
Flyers Adding Grit
Adding a physical presence has been a top priority for the Flyers this off-season and Roussel will look to join new additions Tony DeAngelo, Nicolas Deslauriers and Justin Braun on the roster.
Roussel has topped 115 penalty minutes in every season he's played more than 55 games, including amassing 209 penalty minutes with the Stars in 2013-14. He spent 59 minutes in the box last season.
"I like the way our team's built," Flyers forward Sean Couturier told NBC Sports Philadelphia last week. "If you look at our division, it's a pretty tough division. We brought in some toughness. I don't think there's going to be any more teams bullying us around like we've been in the past couple of years at times.
"We don't seem to have, on paper, maybe that big superstar or big-name guys, but I think as a team, we can come together, do some damage and prove everyone wrong."
The Flyers finished last in the Metropolitan Division last season with a combined record of 25-46-11 under head coach Alain Vigneault and then Mike Yeo while missing the playoffs for the third time in four years.
Veteran centre set to join as well
The Flyers have also signed veteran centre Artem Anisimov to a PTO on Monday, as per Frank Seravalli.
The 34-year-old left-hander spent last season playing for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv of the KHL, where hje registered eight goals and 19 points in 27 games.
Anisimov was originally drafted inm the second round by the New York Rangers in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He debuted for the team in 2009, and played four seasons there.
He has also spent time in the NHL with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators.
In 771 career NHL games played, Anisimov has 180 goals and 376 points.