diff --git a/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onosproject/store/flow/impl/DistributedFlowRuleStore.java b/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onosproject/store/flow/impl/DistributedFlowRuleStore.java
index 6d2dcf3..1f9c708 100644
--- a/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onosproject/store/flow/impl/DistributedFlowRuleStore.java
+++ b/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onosproject/store/flow/impl/DistributedFlowRuleStore.java
@@ -330,7 +330,7 @@
         } catch (IOException | TimeoutException | ExecutionException | InterruptedException e) {
             log.warn("Unable to fetch flow store contents from {}", replicaInfo.master().get());
         }
-        return null;
+        return Collections.emptyList();
     }
 
     private Set<FlowEntry> getFlowEntriesInternal(DeviceId deviceId) {