Photo: bridgetds/Flickr

Thursday night’s win over the New York Rangers was a step in the right direction for the struggling Flyers. There was life on power-play, the penalty-kill came up huge and Ilya Bryzgalov was nearly perfect.

Brayden Schenn missed the game serving his one-game suspension and the Flyers had to do without Scott Hartnell for the first of many games but they still pulled out a tough win. Just when you thought the Flyers luck was finally changing, Andrej Meszaros left the game with an upper-body injury.

Paul Holmgren announced Friday Meszaros will be out at least for four weeks with a left shoulder injury.

With Hartnell out for eight weeks, Danny Briere questionable for this weekend and Zac Rinaldo still healing, the Flyers can’t afford to lose somebody else. The defense has been more than troubled and losing Meszaros just creates more problems.

The question is how the Flyers going to address those problems. Will they make a trade with Montreal for PK Subban? Will they let the injuries run their course and hope to make do with what they got?

Mike Knuble has joined the team and will be ready to go for Saturday’s game against the Florida Panthers. He will wear number 9 in his first game with the Flyers since he signed with Washington in 2009.

Photo: Philadelphia Flyers Facebook

There was a lot news to come out of the second day of training camp for the Flyers. Paul Holmgren updated the status of Danny Briere’s wrist injury Monday.

The good news is Briere is a little ahead of schedule and that he may not be out as long as first expected. The bad news is that the injury that he suffered in December was a hairline fracture.

Briere almost definitely won’t be ready for the team’s first two games on Saturday and Sunday. He hasn’t been on the ice for practice yet and Holmgren said they are just going to take one day at a time.

More good news to come out of camp today was that Chris Pronger was seen patrolling Skate Zone today observing his team. His status remains status quo but to see Pronger feeling good enough to be around the club is a positive.

The Flyers posted the picture above on of Pronger talking to Luke Schenn. If Pronger can influence Schenn in even the smallest way it can be huge for the young defenseman. Not a bad mentor, eh?

Peter Laviolette has been playing around with the line combinations the first two days of training camp and Brayden Schenn has seen some time playing with Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell on the top line. Many believed that Jakub Voracek was a shoe-in to replace Jaromir Jagr but Schenn could make a push.

It’s clear that the Flyers are ready to give Schenn more ice-time and are just waiting for him to break out. He averaged a point-per-game with the Adirondack Phantoms. Considering what they gave up for him, look for the Flyers to give Schenn all the chances in the world to succeed.

Andrej Meszaros

The Flyers have lost out on yet another defenseman — this time it is their own Andrej Meszaros.

Paul Holmgren announced Tuesday that Meszaros had surgery to repair a torn right Achilles tendon. This is just days after Holmgren said that Meszaros was good to go for training camp after last season’s back surgery.

Philly fans are all too familiar with Achilles injuries. Phillies Ryan Howard missed eight months with the injury and won’t be 100% until next season. If Meszaros follows the same schedule, he will miss the entire 2012-13 season.

Holmgren told reporters that he is remaining optimistic, saying that Justin Williams had the same injury in the past and was back by December.

This is perhaps the biggest blow to the Flyers this offseason. Losing out on Shea Weber and Ryan Suter was disappointing but they always had the likes of Meszaros to fall back on. Now, without Meszaros, Chris Pronger and Matt Carle, their blue line isn’t looking too good.

There really aren’t many options left out there without moving some of the young pieces that Holmgren wasn’t willing to pull the trigger on before. The Flyers do have a lot of young defenseman on the roster that will get a chance to fill in but none of them will be able replace Meszaros.

The good news is that this nightmarish summer is almost over. There isn’t much else that can go wrong, right?

As the end of the season drew near, it seemed as if re-signing Jakub Voracek was a no-brainer. Then the days and weeks passed and as the Flyers went after all of the big free agents, Voracek was left hanging.

Paul Holmgren finally locked up the 22-year-old Czech by signing him to a four-year, $17 million extension. Voracek was brought to Philadelphia as part of the package that sent Jeff Carter to Columbus.

In his first season with the Flyers, Voracek scored 18 goals and recorded 31 assists in 78 total games. Voracek never really had a permanent home last season, always moving up and down lines.

There is a huge hole left on the top line with Jaromir Jagr’s departure and Holmgren made it clear that by signing Voracek to this extension, they have full faith that he is a top line winger.
» Continue reading “Flyers Re-Sign Jakub Voracek”

Jaromir Jagr, used with permission © Bob Fina/InsideHockey.com

A few weeks ago it looked like Jaromir Jagr was close to re-signing with the Flyers but things seemed to have shifted.

Jagr is going to test free agency according to Darren Dreger of TSN. When the season ended, Jagr never committed to returning to Philly but made it clear that he did enjoy his time here.

Jagr’s agent said that a deal should be done by the draft but it still shouldn’t be a surprise that Jagr is going to see what he can get on the open market. There is no doubt that some team will overpay and outbid the Flyers.

While Jagr was a huge asset to the team, on and off the ice, it has to be at the right price.

Paul Holmgren also updated the media on off-season surgeries and their draft plans. Kimmo Timonen has recovered nicely from back surgery and as of now, the Flyers have no plans on moving up in the draft. Their current pick is 20th overall.

JVR used with permission © Bob Fina/InsideHockey.com

In the latest twist in this whole JVR soap opera, TSN is reporting that James van Riemsdyk does not, in fact, need hip surgery.

Paul Holmgren confirmed to CSNPhilly.com that this is true, despite telling us just days ago that JVR’s surgery was delayed because of an infection in his foot.

The Flyers initially reported after they were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils that JVR was getting surgery for a torn labrum. Then there was an inaccurate and ridiculous rumor going around that JVR was delaying surgery because he doesn’t want to be traded.

Now, he only needs rehab. Call me crazy but something doesn’t seem right.

The Flyers may not be playing playoff hockey in the summer months but that doesn’t mean you can’t get your orange and black fix.

On July 11, all of the baby Flyers will be taking part in the annual Trial on the Isle down the shore in Stone Harbor, N.J.

In previous years, Flyers prospects such as Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk took part in bike races, paddle-boarding and even softball. This year is going to have a different look to it but fans will still have the opportunity to watch and get autographs.

If hockey isn’t your thing  you can still soak up the sun while watching shirtless athletes run around and play sports.

Flyers, Jagr Close to New Contract

Out of all the gambles Paul Holmgren made last off-season, Jaromir Jagr was perhaps the biggest reward.

When the Flyers signed 40-year old Jagr, nobody thought he would put up 54 points in 73 games and play on the top line with Claude Giroux. He was no doubt a huge part why Giroux emerged as one of the NHL’s biggest stars.

Jagr made it clear that he wanted to play in the NHL next year after the season ended but he didn’t commit to a Flyers return. It seemed that Jagr wasn’t thrilled with his diminishing ice time as the season went on and wanted to play for a team where he was needed.

The Flyers must have reassured Jagr that he will continue to receive top line minutes because CSN Philadelphia is reporting that the Jagr is close to signing another 1-year deal before the NHL draft.

While Jagr exceeded expectations during the 2011-12 season, his nagging groin and leg injuries clearly held him back as the games piled up. It’s hard to believe that Jagr has another full season left in his tank but if anybody can do it, it’s Jaromir Jagr.

“I’m not sure that there is a reason. I like our team still, we’re different.”

These are the words that Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren spoke on June 23, 2011, the day he traded the two cornerstones of the franchise.

Holmgren was clearly upset after he had to tell Mike Richards and Jeff Carter that they were no longer Flyers and was given plenty of opportunities to say that he made the moves to make his team better but he never did.

Instead he said that the Flyers were “different.” He cited the addition of Ilya Bryzgalov and the emergence of Claude Giroux as to what initiated the moves but was never able to give a solid reason.

In return for the former captain and leading goal scorer, the Flyers received Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn from Los Angeles for Richards and Jakub Voracek and a draft pick which turned out to be Sean Couturier from Columbus for Carter.

For some reason, because the Flyers felt as if they had to make their team “different,” many Flyers fans and media members suddenly forgot what Richards and Carter did in Philadelphia during their time here.
» Continue reading “City of Brotherly Love: Why All the Hate?”

Inside Hockey/Bob Fina

It’s been over a week since the Flyers were eliminated and we last updated. Both equally suck so apologies on being MIA. Luckily during our hiatus, there was little to no news on the Flyers.

Claude Giroux advanced to the final four in the NHL ’13 cover bracket. He beat out Kings center Anze Kopitar who is too busy playing his way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Scott Hartnell sadly didn’t make it. You can vote for Giroux here.

Paul Holmgren finally released the list of players who needed surgery. Here is the list:

• Giroux needed surgery on both of his wrists to repair torn cartilage (right) and remove bone spurs (left). He should be fully healed after six weeks.
• Wayne Simmonds had surgery to fix his broken left index finger. This sort of explains why he was basically a no-show for most of the playoffs. Simmonds’ recovery time is 4-6 weeks.
• James van Riemsdyk will have surgery next week to repair a torn labrum in his right hip. JVR was visibly ailing when he returned from his foot injury in the Penguins series. He should be fully recovered in six weeks.
• Matt Carle didn’t really show any signs of pain but he had surgery to repair a torn stomach muscle. He is expected to make a full recovery for next season. Whether or not Carle will be in a Flyers uniform is another story.
• Last but certainly not least, Kimmo Timonen will also have surgery next week to remove a disc fragment from his lower back. It seems as if Timonen is always laboring through injuries so hopefully he will be as close to 100% healthy as he could possibly be by training camp.

That pretty much wraps up what has been going on in the last week. In case you shut down once the Flyers were eliminated, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards and the LA Kings are just win away from going to the Finals.

Inside Hockey/ Kris Mendoza

Less than 48 hours after being bounced from the Stanley Cup Playoffs four games to one to the New Jersey Devils, the Philadelphia Flyers cleared out their lockers Thursday and reflected on the season.

Paul Holmgren and Peter Laviolette also met with the media and had some interesting things to say.

Here are some of the highlights:

Paul Holmgren

• The biggest quote of the day came when Homer told reporters Ilya Bryzgalov is responsible for stopping the puck, not entertaining the media and fans, saying it isn’t “Comedy Central.” Homer said it in a jokingly manner, well, as jovial as Homer can possibly be. He expects Bryz to perform much better in 2012-13 after having a season in Philly under his belt.
• Holmgren wouldn’t commit to naming a new captain for next season, stating that Chris Pronger is still the Flyers’ captain, even though he is still experiencing concussion symptoms. Homer said he would like to stay optimistic and believe that Pronger could return.
• With several players potentially filing for free agency, Homer said he expects to re-sign Matt Carle at a discount and that while they would love to bring Jaromir Jagr back, he knows that there are many teams that would want him, meaning his salary is likely on the rise.
• After shipping them out of town last summer, Holmgren said that he hopes Mike Richards and Jeff Carter win the Stanley Cup with the LA Kings, who are facing the Phoenix Coyotes in the Western Conference Finals. He did make sure to add that he is happy with the trades and he doesn’t regret it.

» Continue reading “Flyers Clean Out Lockers, Reflect on Season”