Oskar Lindblom

Oskar Lindblom told a Swedish media outlet he plans on joining the Philadelphia Flyers in Toronto on Friday with the hope that he will be able to play during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The forward completed treatment for Ewing's sarcoma, a form of bone cancer, on July 2 and last played Dec. 7. He has been skating and working out in his native Sweden while visiting with family.
"I'm going to Toronto on Friday and join the rest of the team," Lindblom told Gefle Dagblad on Tuesday. "We will see how it goes. I feel that my conditioning is getting better and better each day. We are in the playoffs and right now we are playing games to determine our seed.
"It's fantastic being back on the ice after all that's happened."
The Flyers (1-0-0) are playing in the Eastern Conference round-robin portion of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers with the Boston Bruins (0-1-0), Tampa Bay Lightning (1-0-0) and Washington Capitals (0-0-1), to determine seeding for the playoffs. Philadelphia defeated Boston 4-1 on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the East hub city, in the first game for each. The Flyers play the Capitals on Thursday and the Lightning on Saturday. The playoffs begin Tuesday.
Lindblom's teammates said Wednesday that having him back would add to their motivation.
"If he is going to be joining us back here, what it's going to take for him to be even close to playing or practicing, the work ethic he's going to have to put in is a lot," forward Travis Konecny said. "For him to be able to commit to that, I mean, it makes our jobs seem like nothing. We have to go out and play hockey. Think about [Oskar], how hard he's working just to come back and hopefully play one game. It definitely motivates us to do the work for him and make all the hard work he's going to try to put in worthwhile."
Defenseman Travis Sanheim said, "If he's able to join us at some point that would be not only good for him but the team itself to have him around and around the guys. He's such a likable guy that it would motivate us and help us in the playoff run. I'm not sure where he's at playing-wise if he does come and how far off he would be, but that would be something to discuss further down the road."
When Lindblom does arrive in Toronto, he'll have to adhere to a four-day quarantine in his hotel room until four negative tests for coronavirus are confirmed.
The 23-year-old had been ruled out for the season when he was diagnosed in December. But because the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, Lindblom could return.
"When Oskar was diagnosed with cancer, I had numerous talks with our doctors about, 'Is there a chance I could get him back for the playoffs?'" coach Alain Vigneault said Wednesday. "Obviously the answer was no, he wouldn't. But come next training camp in September he should be back if everything went the way they thought, and things have gone the way they thought. This year, with the stoppage in play and the COVID factor, the season has been stretched out and September is a less than a month away.
"I was told come training camp he'd be able to play in September, so I guess we've got to get to September."
General manager Chuck Fletcher said when Lindblom signed a three-year, $9 million contract ($3 million average annual value) on July 22 that he hoped Lindblom would be one of the 31 players Philadelphia brought to Toronto.
When he was diagnosed, Lindblom was tied with Konecny for the Flyers lead with 11 goals in 30 games.
During treatment he would occasionally visit his teammates and coaches before practices or games, and players said seeing Lindblom lifted their spirits and their play.
"Anytime we get a chance to see him, it's a bit more motivation," Flyers captain Claude Giroux said during training camp. "The kid has been through a lot. You want to play well for him. He's a real big part of our team."
NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen contributed to this report