Justin,
The impatience is forced on the teams by the CBA requirement to sign players within 2 years unless they were drafted out of college (or en route to college), combined with roster limits - 50 contracts, and 95 players whose rights are held.
This didn't use to be enforced in the case of prospects drafted out of Europe, but it seems that it is now, except for Russians - I think there's now an agreement with the IIHF on this that Russia didn't sign (that agreement was not in place when Eriksson was drafted, though the 2-yr CBA provision was). I have a similar 2-yr rule in one of my keeper leagues, combined with a roster limit, and it requires some tough choices on players who have not yet shown that something something, but may have merely lacked the opportunity to do so. You're forced to balance the short term for the long term, and sometimes you take gambles, release somebody and hope everyone else leaves him as well until you can snatch him up again.
The Flyers currently have 40 contracts for next year, plus 10 RFAs (including Stewart), plus UFA Ville Leino. So they are already at the limit and had to balance the needs of their NHL and AHL teams against the long term. From what Holmgren said the decision was based less on his potential and more on his ETA, which is more than 2 years. As he says in the Panacchio piece, Eriksson wasn't going to unseat any of their NA goalies (Backlund, Stewart) right now (or in the near future).
Finally, Eriksson is still eligible to be drafted this year. The cut off for European prospects who hadn't played in North America is their 22nd birthday, and Eriksson only turned 21 this April, so if the Flyers are still really high on him, they can use a 7th rounder to redraft him and give him another 2 years. If that's their plan, I think it's a pretty fair way of handling the situation - gives another team that believes in him a chance to take him, which is fair to him, and if not, re-acquire him via draft or free agency.
I own him in one league and am not going to give up on him, as I knew when I drafted him that I didn't expect him in the NHL before 14-15 at the earliest. I'm sure he'll resurface, if not via the draft, then as an FA in the spring of 2013.
Rebulding in two lifetime keepers, squads to follow ...