The Philadelphia Flyers got good news on Saturday. However, it came with a sort of bad news, or a questionable decision along with it.

Starting with the good news, it looks as if Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny are nearing their return to the Flyers’ lineup, with Sunday’s 4:00 PM ET matchup with the Utah Mammoth as a possibility for both players.

“I’ll talk to Konecny later today. Tippett looks like he’s trending that way, but like I said, like later this afternoon we’ll kind of know because I think they’re getting treatment and stuff like that. But they feel good,” said Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet on whether or not Tippett and Konecny will be in the lineup on Sunday.

As for the signs from practice, it looks pretty clear that they’ll make their return. Both Tippett and Konecny were with the Flyers’ power play units at the beginning of practice, joining the 2nd unit alongside Oliver Bonk, Christian Dvorak, and Tyson Foerster. Alex Bump was rotating in as well, but he and Dvorak were switching.

As for line rushes, both Konecny and Tippett were in their top 6 roles. Konecny was on the right wing of the Trevor Zegras-Christian Dvorak line. Tippett was on the right of Tyson Foerster and Denver Barkey.

It sure looks like both players will be activated off of injured reserve for Sunday’s game against Utah.

Jacob Gaucher was already loaned back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, leaving the active roster with 22 players. They needed to make one more move to create space for Konecny AND Tippett. That’s where the bad news, or questionable decision, comes in.

Hunter McDonald has been loaned back to the Phantoms, which now has an active roster of 21 players, which is enough room for both forwards to return. Injecting my opinion here: I think it was the wrong move.

The 24-year-old defenseman had done an excellent job with the time he was given at the NHL level. He was one of, if not the most physical players the team had during his 5-game stint. It took some adjusting, but once he was able to settle in, McDonald was playing like the best 6th defenseman the team had all season.

His defensive play was solid, but his big contributions came as a physical player and an agitator. In each game, he laid a hit you were going to remember. He was not afraid of contact. Rather, he embraced it.

Plus, it’s hard to forget the two instigator penalties his clean hits drew. McDonald’s hits were so big the other team came to fight him. The one against Buffalo helped put the game away. His effort against Anaheim got the Flyers a 5-on-3 early and turned into 2 goals for his team.

It’s also simply poor timing. Just one game after the Flyers’ toughness and defensive efforts were questioned by leadership and Tocchet, they loaned one of their better defenders during this stretch and one of their most physical players. All in all, I don’t like the message that sends.

Getting Konecny and Tippett back is a big deal for the Flyers. Overall, that’s the best news. However, it does not come without a little cloud from losing someone who had been a bright spot for the team.