The Philadelphia Flyers are already in a lousy situation against the New Jersey Devils. They are down 3-1 in the series, but it’s much worse than that. The Devils are killing the Flyers in most aspects of hockey. The Flyers can’t even carry it out of their own zone without a huge fight.

And Game 5 just got a lot tougher. According to the Flyers’ Facebook page, Claude Giroux will be suspended for one game following his hit to the head of Dainius Zubrus.

“BREAKING NEWS: Claude Giroux was given a 1 game suspension by the NHL for a hit on Dainius Zubrus during the 2nd period of last night’s game,” the post reads.

He did hit him well after the puck was gone, but he didn’t leave his feet. Still, the NHL obviously thinks he went after his head (which he did hit). What do you think?

The Philadelphia Flyers have gotten a ton of contributions from rookies this season. Guys like Matt Read, Braydon Schenn and Sean Couturier have all been phenomenal this year.

Couturier, in particular, has been just insane on defense. Not many 19-year old kids are told to shut down Evgeni Malkin…and then are able to go out and do it. So, when he went down with a leg injury last week in a game against the New Jersey Devils, there was cause for concern.

But, Sam Carchidi tweets that he could return on Sunday night for Game 4, which would be great news for Flyers fans.

“Center Sean Couturier is making a quick recovery from a leg injury and is expected to be in the Flyers’ lineup tonight. Officially, it’s a game-time decision. Mez will not play tonight and is possible for Tues,” he tweets.

Mez is Andrej Meszaros, who hasn’t played in forever. So that’s of no consequence. However, getting Couturier back would be a nice addition, even if it wouldn’t solve the Flyers’ problems with the Devils fore check.

New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk missed the team’s Game 2 victory on Tuesday night with a back issue. It probably helped the team win considering he was so god awful on defense in Game 1.

But, on Thursday, he says he’s healthy and ready for Thursday’s Game 3, which will be played on Thursday of this week.

“I feel good and I’m ready to go,” Kovalchuk said.

Head coach Pete DeBoer, however, says that Kovalchuk will be a “game-time decision.”

“I think with players, these guys know their bodies better than doctors, coaches, anybody else,” DeBoer said. “So, it’s not me seeing something. It’s him knowing what we need out of him and whether he feels his body is capable of giving us that. That’s where we’re at. Players have to make those decisions.”

It sounds like Ilya already made that decision then. Looks like he’ll be suiting up in New Jersey for a crucial game in the series tied at 1-1.

“Why would you sit there and rest if you feel better and you’re ready to go?” Kovalchuk asked. “Now, Pete, he will decide what he wants to see in the lineup tonight.”

We first saw this on our buddy Cleveland’s Facebook page. He went to Game 1 of the series between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils. When I saw this picture, I just thought “that guy has some balls.”

If you haven’t figured it out, No. 17 Wayne Simmonds of the Flyers is black. And this guy thought it would be funny/endearing to get a Simmonds Flyers jersey with “The Black Guy” on the back of it.

Simmonds claimed in the pre-season that he was used to the racism stuff. This was after a Canadian fan threw a banana on the ice as he prepared to take a penalty shot. But, whether he’s strong enough to deal with it or not, he shouldn’t have to be. While this isn’t the most offensive thing we’ve ever seen, it’s not remotely necessary.

Dude should have more class than that.

As if the defense of the Philadelphia Flyers just couldn’t get worse after they gave up 10 goals on Wednesday night to the Pittsburgh Penguins, they will now be without yet another key defensman. Nicklas Grossman was hit in the head twice in Game 4 and will miss Game 5 with a concussion.

This means that rookie Erik Gustafsson will make his playoff debut Friday night.

“Our team has done has an exceptional job this year,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “Guys moving up in their role.

“Guys coming into the lineup, who had been out of the lineup a little bit. Recalls we’ve used from our minor-league affiliate. I think our team has handled those situations well.

“The fact that we’ve lost another defenseman is hard to take. But in saying that, our team has filled this spot all year long. We had close to 450 man games to injury. This isn’t something new to us. We’d much rather have Grossmann in there … that’s not an option right now.”

The team traded for Grossman during the season and he’s been great in blocking shots and improving the overall defense. This is a huge loss for a team that umm…just gave up 10 goals in a single game.

The Philadelphia Flyers have some concerns heading into their playoff series with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Will Ilya Bryzgalov continue his stellar play in net? Will they get healthy quick enough? Can they minimize the defensive breakdowns?

Well, they got a bit of good news today when they found out that defensman Nicklas Grossman will be back for the start of the series.

“Grossmann said he is 100 percent. #Flyers,” tweets beat writer Sam Carchidi.

Grossman was an in-season trade who has helped a ton on the back end. Recently signed to a thee-year extension, Grossman blocks a lot of shots, which was a huge key when the Flyers made their run in 2010.

Can’t wait for Wednesday! Should be an awesome series regardless of whether you care about either of these teams.

The Philadelphia Flyers have been playing very well lately, but that doesn’t mean they should have been looking forward to this weekend’s pair of games. Saturday afternoon, they had to take on the Boston Bruins, who seem to own them. Their reward for losing a tight game in a shootout to the B’s was to come back home and face the white-hot Pittsburgh Penguins

After getting down 2-0 in the second period and facing a Penguins defense that had little-to-no interest in letting any pucks get through to Marc-Andre Fleury, it looked like the Fly Guys were in for a long weekend.

But, they bounced back in the third period to tie the game and send it into overtime. And just as the game was headed to a shootout, the Flyers had one last drop at the Last Drink Saloon. A centering pass to Scott Hartnell was fired past Fleury with 0.9 seconds left on the clock and the Flyers got the two points.

In doing so, they snapped the Penguins 11-game winning streak and held Sidney Crosby without a point for the first time since he returned from a concussion.

Hartnell, meanwhile, scored his 34th and 35th goals of the season, making me have to shut up about all the other little stupid stuff he tends to do.

The Philadelphia Flyers have had an up-and-down season. At times, they could choke you out and look like they’d never lose another game ever. Other times, they’ve showed poor defense combined with awful goaltending, which….yeah, you can imagine how that turned out.

But, the one constant seems to be injuries. They have them. A lot.

The biggest of course is the season-ending (possibly career-ending) concussion to Chris Pronger. But lately, the defense has taken on even more water. Kimmo Timonen has been out with a sore back, and Andrej Meszaros is dealing with what we think is a groin injury (if you’ve heard the Flyers’ injury reports, you’d know why we don’t know the specifics).

And now, it’s worse. Recently acquired defensman Pavel Kubina is now hurt too and missed last night’s pasting of the Florida Panthers. Kubina is sidelined with – GASP! – an undisclosed injury. So who the hell knows how long he’ll be out.

What’s funny is that despite all the injuries, they’ve gotten stellar play lately from Ilya Bryzgalov and actually the team as a whole.

So keep the injuries coming!

After a great start to the 2011-12 season, the Philadelphia Flyers have fizzled as of late. Injuries have taken a toll and their poor defense has done nothing to hide their erratic (at best) goaltending.

But they recently traded for defensman Niklas Grossman and apparently they don’t think that solved the problem. They just sent a 2nd-round draft pick and a fifth to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Pavel Kubina, a veteran who should help the backend a bit.

This still will not remotely plug the hole left by Chris Pronger. There really are two Flyers defenses: One with Pronger and one without. And they aren’t even close in production. Remember, Pronger would play 30 minutes a game more often than not.

We’ll see how this affects the Flyers play on the ice. Lord knows they need help after a 6-3 shellacking today at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Philadelphia Flyers budding young star James van Riemsdyk hasn’t played hockey since January 14th. He was concussed during a game and it doesn’t sound like he’s any closer to returning.

According to beat writer Sam Carchidi, JVR still feels like he’s in a fog in terms of his mental state.

“JVR , battling post-concussion syndrome, says he still feels like he is in a fog. He isn’t likely to return for a while. #Flyers,” Carchidi tweets.

This ain’t good. It doesn’t sound like van Riemsdyk is even close to returning to the ice for the Flyers.

Last night there were a series of trade rumors that cropped up involving the Philadelphia Flyers’ James van Riemsdyk. With Chris Pronger out for the season and the defense not exactly keeping their goalies clean, the Flyers could use some help in the back. It was floated that GM Paul Holmgren would be speaking with the Nashville Predators when the two teams this meet this weekend regarding Ryan Suter. There was also the Toronto Maple Leafs rumor that would have them sending the Flyers Luke Schenn in exchange for JVR.

But, you can probably squash all that talk for now. JVR has been diagnosed with a concussion and is out indefinitely.

“James was hit in the head in each of our last two games,” Holmgren said in a statement. “He reported yesterday not feeling like himself. He will be out indefinitely with a concussion.”

That sucks. JVR had 11 goals this year even though his play is down from the level of last season. He’s only 22-years old and hopefully the Flyers don’t just ship him out for a few Mac Miller CD’s.

“It’s unfortunate it happened, I actually like the way he was moving on that line,” said coach Peter Laviolette. “I like the way it was moving. When guys come out, it’s a setback for them and a setback for the team. Now, Zac [Rinaldo] comes back in the lineup and brings his energy. We’ll move other lines around a bit. We’ve been through it before and we’ll get through this.”

I’ll be curious to see what happens to those trade rumors now.

Jaromir Jagr has flat-out been one of the best players on the Philadelphia Flyers this season. He’s got 12 goals and 31 points in 33 games and has been absolute dynamite with Claude Giroux.

So, when he gingerly walked off the ice during the Winter Classic, Flyers fans weren’t thrilled. He’ll be 40-years old in February, so nagging injuries are a concern. Initially projected to be out 7-10 days with a groin injury, Jagr could be ahead of schedule, according to Sam Carchidi.

“Jagr said he probably won’t play Sat., but “hopefully” Sun. #Flyers,” the Flyers beat man tweeted.

The Flyers have a home-and-home with the Ottawa Senators this weekend.

You thought Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was mum on injuries? He might have nothing on the Philadelphia Flyers. We kept hearing how defensman Chris Pronger has been out with some mysterious illness. Now? They’re telling us that he will miss four weeks after undergoing knee surgery to clean out some loose bodies.

So, was he really sick?

“He’s been playing through it up until this recent bout with the virus,” GM Paul Holmgren said through a translator.

I’m not saying he wasn’t sick, but I’m sorry if I don’t trust the Flyers when it comes to injuries. They are always telling us someone has an “upper body injury.” What is that? Head? Arm? Ribs? Could be anything.

The Flyers have had up-and-down goaltending play this season, so losing Pronger is a pretty big blow.

Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Flyers skate with the mighty and powerful New York Islanders. And they’ll be getting some much needed help as they try to slay the behemoth.

Coming back to the lineup are winger Jaromir Jagr (groin) and defensman Braydon Coburn (bruised kidney).

“I’m glad I’m back, that’s the important thing,” Jagr said. “Hopefully, my legs are gonna be good. That’s the main thing to me.”

It will be good for them to have Jagr back out there with their dynamo Claude Giroux. He’s played very well on that line even though he’s cooled a little bit in the last few games.

Coburn is a much-needed addition to a defense that’s gotten pretty sloppy in front of Bryzgalov and Bob at times.

So, the Philadelphia Flyers played an exhibition game against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night in London, Ontario. The Flyers lost 4-3 in a shootout, but that’s not the real story.

The real story is that when Wayne Simmonds, a black guy, skated in for his penalty shot attempt, a fan threw a banana peel onto the ice. Seriously.

“I caught it from the side of my eye,” Simmonds said. “It was a banana. Hopefully, that wasn’t directed towards me being black. Because if it was, that’s just somebody being ignorant.”

Oh I’m sure it was because you’re black. You can probably bet money on that. Sadly, Simmonds is just used to getting that kind of treatment.

“When you’re a black man playing in a predominantly white man’s sport, you’ve got to come to expect things like that,” Simmonds said. “Over the past 23 years of my life, I’ve come to expect some things like that. But I’m older and more mature now, I kind of just left things roll off [my back]. I try not to think about stuff like that.”

One teammate, who asked not to be named, told the Daily News what he’d have done if he had found that fan.

“I would have went and kicked that fan’s ass myself,” he said. “That’s just not right.”

The fan didn’t get caught. Awesome. That guy needs to be beaten into oblivion.

Free agency is not over. There are still several players available that can come in and help the Philadelphia Eagles. However, as I sit here on Friday morning, I can’t help but feel the Eagles have misplayed their hand. In poker, you can slow play pocket kings through the entire hand and probably come out on top through the river. You may take in a small pot, but it isn’t nearly as big as you could have made it with a smart, aggressive approach. Kevin Kolb was your pocket kings.

It’s no surprise that the Eagles had a hole at right corner. It’s no surprise that they were looking to deal Kolb. Add to the equation that the Arizona Cardinals had a need for QB and had a corner they were looking to ship and it appears to be a no brainer. However, instead of accepting the marginal return in the pot, there was plenty more value that could have been had for their backup QB. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad trade for Philadelphia. They made a move with their top “chip” and filled a position of need on the defensive side of the ball. I just don’t think it was the best overall FOOTBALL move for the team.

Simply put, cornerback was probably the deepest and most talented group of this year’s free agency. Leading the pack is Nnamdi Asomugha, followed by names such as Johnathan Joseph and Antonio Cromartie. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, not a free agent, is probably better than Antonio Cromartie, but clearly 3rd in comparison to Asomugha and Joseph. So why not be “aggressive” and pursue a better player in free agency then use your “chip” to address other areas of need?

I know the lockout severely limited the teams in play for Kolb. The draft came and went and many teams elected to select a QB with a high pick and it probably took their names off of the potential suitors list. But don’t sit here and tell me that there weren’t teams willing to give up a 1st and a 3rd for KK following the draft. Don’t tell me that there weren’t teams willing to move a player (other than corner) and a pick for KK.

Would the Eagles not be in a much better place right now if they were able to lure in a FA corner, while trading Kolb for a strong safety and a pick? What about some defensive line help? Do we all realize that the Eagles have two linebackers with any experience? Would the smarter play have been to trade Kolb for Daryl Washington and a 2nd? 

You tell me what the better scenario is: Rodgers-Cromartie and a 2nd, OR, Johnathan Jospeh, Daryl Washington and a 2nd?
Which one do you take? Which one fills the most holes? Which one seems to be the best FOOTBALL move for the team?

If I had to parallel this to another team, I can easily refer to the Philadelphia Flyers, albeit a little different circumstances. The Flyers knew they had goaltending issues. They also know that they had a few “chips” on that team worthy of getting a good goaltender in return. That chip was the team leader in goals, Jeff Carter. But instead of shipping out Carter simply to get a goaltender in return, the guy they wanted happened to be better than anyone they would potentially get in a trade. He was a free agent (Editor’s Note: Sort of. They traded for him, but it was next to nothing because was going to be a free agent in a couple weeks). He was Ilya Bryzgalov. Sure, they had to pay him some money, but it was a great hockey move and a solid organizational move. Then, they moved Carter for a solid player in return in Jakub Voracek and even netted the 8th-overall selection in the draft (immensely talented kid in Sean Courturier).

Again, I’m not saying the Eagles didn’t get value for Kevin Kolb. Sure they did. But did they really make the best potential moves to help this team? I don’t think so. Instead, they stared at Rodgers-Cromartie’s rookie contract and elected a cheaper option. “Let’s be prepared for the long term so we can continue to come up short.”

Photo Caption: No need to cry, we are only a solid cornerback away from losing an NFC championship game this year.

If they had recently won a Super Bowl title, fine. I can understand that you can’t make the big moves every year. But this team and this organization has so much arrogance in regards to who they are or who they “think” they are, that it is more than obscene.

Because the Eagles failed to capitalize on the potential size of the pot, they are left with a former 7th-round pick at strong safety in Kurt Coleman (although I like the kid). They are left with gaping holes at linebacker including handing the reigns to another former 7th-round pick, Jamar Chaney. He has a lot of promise, but has yet to prove he can handle the load for 16 games. Other than Moise Fokou, the linebacker corps are all rookies.

I don’t dislike the Jason Babin signing as much as I did initially.  In fact, I might like it at this point.   I’m not one to throw money at a guy who has a “career year,” but his contract is Eagle friendly and if Jim Washburn can get the same motivation and success out of him that he did in Tennessee, then it is a good move. In addition, if Washburn is this defensive line genius as he is so frequently touted, then he should be able to increase the play of Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley. Notice the “ifs?” When you have an opportunity to eliminate “ifs,” be aggressive and PLAY the hand rather than letting the hand play you… I think you have to strap on your boots and make it happen.

To me, the Eagles didn’t do that. There are still moves to be made, but have you gotten any indication that the Eagles will be a part of them?

The Florida Panthers just signed big defensman Ed Jovanovski to a four-year, $16.5 million contract today. At 35-years old and coming off of a 14-point season, we aren’t so sure exactly what he’s going to contribute to the club unless he’s a hilarious locker room prankster who really enjoys keeping the team loose.

They are keeping it going with adding guys who aren’t going to help much by trading for Philadelphia Flyers forward Kris Versteeg. The Panthers gave up 2nd- and 3rd-round choices to get a guy that excels at disappearing during games.

The Flyers needed a goalie last year, but instead traded for Versteeg. He successfully did nothing to help the team. However, he did cause many fans to openly wonder why they traded a first- and third-round pick to get him.

In 27 games with Philadelphia, he had seven goals and four assists, with each and every one of them going unnoticed.

This would have been great news for Philadelphia Flyers fans just 10 years ago. But, since they just traded away Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, they needed to add some firepower in the front.

Multiple sources are reporting that the Flyers have indeed signed Jaromir Jagr.

Apparently, the Pittsburgh Penguins got fed up with his nonsense and pulled out. The Detroit Red Wings pulled out as well, which all but handed him to the Flyguys.

It’s a one-year contract worth a reported $3.3 million. Previously, the Penguins pulled a one-year, $2 million contract offer off of the table.

Jagr is 73-years old and has been playing overseas for the past three seasons with the Omsk Avangard, who may or may not be good. Paul Holmgren must be pretty confident that this guy can play because that’s an ass ton of money for a guy that old.

It was about a year ago that I sat in OTR’s very own, Micah Warren’s German luxury car (Volkswagen Jetta). We were headed to the range to hit some golf balls when I suggested an interesting, yet unlikely scenario. “The Eagles should make a move for Albert Haynesworth.”

It was evident that this guy was unhappy in Washington and first year head coach, Mike Shanahan, was switching to a 3-4 scheme. Among other things, pride slashed with an undoubtedly poor attitude left the Redskins with a very unhappy, very unmotivated and VERY expensive player for the year. That said, it wasn’t hard to assume Washington would look to move this guy either by trade or simply cutting him after the season.

Despite all this, I repeated my interest in acquiring his services. He is a big, dominant force in the middle who, when motivated, is one of, if not, the best DL in the league. I thought it made complete sense to give him a 2 year, incentive laden deal and an opportunity to rejuvenate his reputation and career. This was a specific position of need for the Eagles that could be filled and possibly exceeded with the addition. Still, I was called a fool and others wanted no part of my scenario.

Just curious: Who is one of Fat Albert’s main potential suitors once a CBA is reached? Who brought in his former tutor to coach the defensive line? More importantly, why is it accepted as a possibility now…when it was rejected vehemently when proposed in your German engineered sedan? Is it only worth considering when SportsCenter runs a VO on it or if Adam Schefter says its possible?

The 2010 MLB season came and went. The Phillies ran into the heavy arms of the S.F. Giants and were eliminated in the N.L. Championship Series. Despite trading for Roy Halladay and adding Roy Oswalt at the break, the Phightin’s came up short and were out classed on the mound. Is it any surprise that pitching wins championships? No. So even though they had a great rotation already, why is it so farfetched to think they would make a play for Cliff Lee?

I repeated myself over and over again that the Phillies could bring back Lee if they wanted to. Despite moving him to clear space for Halladay, the minute the trade went through to Seattle both Lee, the fans AND the Phillies knew something didn’t feel right. A fan favorite, who was at the top of his game, was moved across the country despite his relationship with the fans and outward desire to play in this city. So why wouldn’t the Phillies take a peek at the guy once he hit the open market?

If a few things happened, the Phillies would have just as good of, if not a better shot at signing the lefty. First, we all knew they would have to let Jayson Werth walk. Done. Second, they would have to find a suitor for Raul Ibanez’ contract. Third, they would need to rely on Lee taking a little less money. Plain and simple. Okay, so the Phillies decided to go over budget rather than find a new home for Ibanez, but all the right things happened prior to signing him. Very similar to how the Eagles are positioning themselves for Haynesworth (although not nearly at the same level).

So when news struck in the middle of the night that Cliff Lee signed a deal with the Phils, were you one of the ones completely caught off guard… or simply excited that your team took advantage of an opportunity in front of them? 

So why can’t Steven Stamkos become a Flyer? Ah, finally we’ve arrived at my point (EDITOR’S NOTE: Finally). I’m hearing nothing be negativity and doubt regarding the Flyers ability to sign Stamkos. He is 21 and arguably the 3rd best player in the game (behind Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby). So let’s address some of the facts.

Fact: Flyers would have to clear cap space
Fact: Whoever signs Stamkos to an offer sheet would have to give up four first-round draft picks
Fact: Tampa Bay owns his rights as a RFA so he would have to refuse the initial offers prior to July 1

To clear the cap space, the Flyers cleared up nearly $108 million in long-term contracts by dealing home grown studs Jeff Carter and captain Mike Richards. Cap space achieved.
In both of those trades the Flyers got young and talented. Highlighted the Richards deal was Braydon Schenn, the 5th-overall selection in 2009 and a guy nearly every team coveted. Thanks to the Carter trade, the Flyers scooped up Jakub Vorecek (6th overall in 2008) and also landed the 8th-overall pick this year.

With that selection, these guys got Sean Corturier. This guy was once ranked the #1 North American born skater and debated as the top overall pick. He slipped down to 8th where the Flyers bag an absolute steal. And let us not forget the 2007 No.2-overall selection in JVR.

So to recap, the Flyers now own the rights to the 2007 No. 2-overall pick, 2008 No. 6-overall pick, the 2009 No. 5-overall pick and the 2011 No. 8-overall pick. Signing Stamkos to an offer sheet at the expense of four future first-round draft picks doesn’t seem so extreme now…does it? They would be putting themselves in a great position to WIN now while securing youth for the future. Plus, if things go as expected, the picks would be at the bottom of the first round.

Finally, none of this is possible if Stamkos simply signs with TB prior to July 1st. How has that gone so far? In order for any of this to be possible, Stamkos and the Lightning have to come to an impasse on a new deal and allow him to test the waters. So far, the on again, off again talks have proven to provide just that.

Of course, if/when a team signs him to an offer sheet, TB has the right to match the deal. It is being reported that TB is offering around $7-7.5 million per season. Really? Crosby is getting upwards of $9 million/per and Ovechkin is just over $9 million/per. Do we really think this guy is going to sign for $7 million without at least letting other teams drive up that price tag? In addition, who says the Lighting can pay him top dollar even if they wanted to? Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Ryan Malone are all on the books for long-term, high-cap contracts. I didn’t see any of those guys get moved yet… did you?

So if a team, like the Flyers, would come in and offer part of the $108 million saved by moving Carter and Richards to Stamkos… do we really think TB can match it? In a curious move, the Flyers moved Darroll Powe earlier this week. Why? He wasn’t going to cost too much and was critical to the PK. Why make that move if you were trying to save every penny you could for a much larger plan?

Do we really think Snider isn’t eying up a big move? After all, he has given up control of the Sixers and has full attention on his prized baby. I’m not saying this is definitely happening, but what I am saying is… look at the facts. Teams, like the Flyers, can pull off a move like this if certain things fall in line. In fact, it’s really the only way moves like this get done. The Phillies took those moves, the Eagles are trying to make some moves and it appears the Flyers are doing the exact same thing.

THINK BIG!

A source tells OTR that Ilya Bryzgalov has a done deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. The problem is that they can’t announce it before July 1st because it would put them over the cap. And there has been much speculation about who could be dealt in order to make cap room.

Jeff Carter? Mike Richards? Matt Carle?

Many Flyers fans are hoping that it’s Carter. Yes, he scores a nice amount of goals during the regular season, but what has he given you in the playoffs?

Not much.

For those hoping for Carter to get moved, we have some bad news. A source tells OTR that “it’s not looking like Carter is going anywhere.”

Carter is due $6.25 million this season and would provide some cap relief. But according to our source, it looks like he’ll still be a Flyer this season.

UPDATE: Whoops.

A source close to the situation tells OTR that Ilya Bryzgalov has a deal in place with the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s not shocking since the Flyers traded a 2012 third-round pick, future considerations and forward Matt Clackson for the former Phoenix Coyote goalie. I don’t think anyone really believed that he would sign elsewhere as a free agent.

“It’s definitely a done deal and will be announced on July 1st,” the source said.

The source added that the announcement could come sooner if the Flyers were able to trade salary between now and then.

We didn’t get many details on the numbers, but the source believes that it is a seven-year deal.

The Philadelphia Flyers may have finally added a goaltender! In case you didn’t notice, and judging by the ratings you didn’t, the Flyers had awful netminding in the playoffs this year (and end of the regular season).

Brian Boucher might start, but Sergei Bobrovsky would finish the game. Or vice versa. Or maybe Michael Leighton would get thrown in there. But the bottom line is that none of these guys were good enough to start on a team with Stanley Cup aspirations.

But now, the team has made a trade that should help shore up the goalie position. Phoenix Coyote’s GM Don Maloney announced the trade that many thought would happen, as he shipped the rights to Ilya Bryzgalov to Philadelphia in exchange for a 2012 third-round pick, future considerations and forward Matt Clackson.

“After several discussions with Ilya and his agent, it became very clear to us that we were not in a position to sign Ilya to a long-term contract,” said Maloney. “We will now focus our efforts on adding another goaltender to our roster for the upcoming season.

Bryzgalov is a free agent on July 1st, as is Clackson. So there is no guarantee that the Flyers will be able to keep him. But I think it’s safe to say that the Flyers wouldn’t be trading for his rights if they had any doubt that they’d be able to sign him to a new deal.

Bryzgalov is now free to pursue a life of religious fulfillment.

Dan Carcillo’s main job for the Philadelphia Flyers is to be an obnoxious agitator, who gets his hands dirty and does a lot of the unpopular stuff (in theory while avoiding penalties). Apparently, it’s one thing to direct your ire towards the opposing team, just don’t direct it towards the officials.

And that’s what Carcillo did after the first period of Game 4 against the Boston Bruins. The NHL didn’t seem to like it as they’ve suspended Carcillo without pay for the first two games of next season.

“Between the first and second period, while off ice and outside the officials’ locker room, Mr. Carcillo engaged in aggressive behavior and inappropriate conduct directed at the officials,” said Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy. “While Mr. Carcillo acknowledged in the hearing that he regrets his actions outside of the officials’ room, there can be no defense for his conduct.

“I also reviewed the verbal confrontation between Carcillo and linesman Brian Murphy at the players’ bench prior to the start of the second period and have determined that, while the verbal abuse may have been worthy of a penalty, there is no evidence that Carcillo’s action merits supplemental discipline,” concluded Murphy.

Way to go, Dan.

Last year, the Philadelphia Flyers made a magical run through the post-season. They came back from a 3-0 deficit in Game 7 against the Boston Bruins in the second round, after coming back from 3-0 in that series. They ended up making it to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Last year, the Flyers had mediocre-at-best goaltending, where they mixed and matched with Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton. But, their defense was stellar. They blocked shots all day and night and kept their netminders relatively clean. So, the deficiency was pretty well masked.

This year, the goaltending and defense were far worse. Brian Boucher, Sergei Bobrovsky and Michael Leighton (Jonas Backlund’s name even came up for Christ’s sake) were yanked and started repeatedly as the Flyers just couldn’t get solid goaltending. They couldn’t overcome Boston’s 3-0 lead this year and were swept by a team that thoroughly outclassed them.

So, while it wasn’t just goaltending that was the problem, it was indeed a problem. And it hurts even worse to know that Boston goalie Tim Thomas, who was marvelous all year, could have been had in the offseason. Sure, he was 35-years old, had a $5 million salary and had lost his job to Tuukka Rask last year, but he had to have been better than what the Flyers had, right?

I was a bit worried about his high price tag, but I also wasn’t convinced that any of the guys from last year would get it done for a team that was built to win now. GM Paul Holmgren went out and acquired defense this offseason and I don’t blame him. Defense masked the goalie problems last year. But, at some point you need someone who can play. And Tim Thomas would have been an upgrade over Leighton, Boucher and a 22-year old Russian kid that doesn’t speak English.

No, I didn’t see Thomas’ insane, possible-Vezina-winning season coming. But the guy has been excellent in the past and Philly’s failure to trade for him (he wouldn’t have commanded much after the season he had) ended up costing them pretty big. Thomas was a wall against the Flyers in this series and Boucher and Bobrovsky (who wasn’t bad)….um, weren’t.

For next year, the team is going to have to sacrifice a guy like Jeff “I don’t show up in the playoffs” Carter for better goaltending. We’ll see what’s out there, but you can’t seriously go into a season with championship aspirations and tell the fan base that Boosh will be good enough.

Most observers of the Philadelphia Flyers didn’t expect to hear Michael Leighton’s name come up in this year’s playoffs unless there was an injury or both Brian Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky took huge collective dumps in their crease. While Bobrovsky certainly hasn’t embarrassed himself through two games, he did get yanked in Game 2 and has now virtually fallen off the depth chart.

Head coach Peter Laviolette has announced the Brian Boucher will start Game 3 against the Buffalo Sabres, but Bob won’ be his backup. Nope, it’s Leighton, who was recalled a couple weeks ago and cleared re-entry waivers.

“Boosh will start in net,” Laviolette said. “Not company, my policy. That’s what I’ve done all. I’ve announced the starter. It’s Boosh.”

Why Boucher when the three goals really weren’t all on Bobrovsky?

“Brian came in last couple of times and has done a really nice job for us in there,” Laviolette said. “He’s on top of his game and in charge of his net. He bailed us out of a couple of situations and I really feel he deserves to go in there and play.”

So there you have it, but this doesn’t mean anything is set in stone past Game 3. You have three below-average goalies and it looks like Laviolette will use them like a bullpen and go with the hot hand. It’s what he’s done since he became the Flyers coach last season.

One of the reasons Philadelphia Flyers fans didn’t have to completely freak out about the team’s poor defensive play as of late was Chris Pronger. As in, they’d be getting him back for the playoffs and he’s such a difference maker that he’d immediately fix the back end.

But, while Pronger (busted hand) skated and did some stick work on Wednesday, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said that he’s a game-day decision for Game 1 against the Buffalo Sabres Thursday night.

OTR reads that as “he’s not going to play, but we’re going to hold off ruling him out so that the Sabres think he might be a go.”

We’ll see what happens, but right now it’s not looking good. We’ve seen reports that have him out until Game 5 or 6, so we have a hunch of what that “game-day” decision will be.

Last year, Michael Leighton helped the Philadelphia Flyers in their deep playoff run that ended in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup. Sure, he wasn’t great and their defense helped him a ton, but he was still their starter for most of it.

This season, Leighton’s hard work was rewarded with a one-way ticket to the Adirondacks to play for the Phantoms. And he’s helped them tremendously, with a 14-12-2 record with a 2.22 goals against-average and .926 save percentage.

With the Flyers current goaltenders – Brian Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky – struggling, the team apparently would like to see what Leighton can do. They Flyers have placed Leighton on re-entry waivers, allowing every other NHL team to take a crack at him at half of his cap price, which is $1.55 million.

We could find out if Leighton is back on the team as soon as noon on Wednesday. The Flyers could desperately use goaltending help for the playoffs, we’ll see if he clears waivers.

This is exactly what the slumping Flyers need. For a team that’s been so great all year, this is not the time to take on more water.

It was thought that rest would be what the doctored ordered to get Chris Pronger’s hand healthy again, but that’s not the case. It turns out that the doctor ordered surgery to repair a small fracture.

“Chris had a CT scan on his right hand on Sunday and a small fracture was discovered,” GM Paul Holmgren said. “Our doctors believe surgery is the best route to take with the injury. Surgery will be done Tuesday morning in Cleveland by Dr. Tom Graham. Chris will be able to return to play in 3-4 weeks.”

The good news is that he’ll be back right around the start of the playoffs, and maybe some time off will be good for him. I don’t care who you are, a full season of hockey will wear you out physically.

Just throwing out some notes on the Philadelphia Flyers. Brian Boucher will get the start tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Sergei Bobrovsky will get the day off.

In other Flyers news, James Van Riemsdyk was sent to the Adirondack Phantoms of the AHL, which is shocking considering how productive he’s been lately. But, without Chris Pronger (hand), Peter Laviolette is stacking up on defensmen. He called up Erik Gustaffson from the Phantoms and claimed Nick Boynton. JVR is almost certainly going to return to the Flyers shortly.

Blair “Dickey” Betts didn’t make the trip to Ottawa with his teammates; he’s still dealing with a lacerated finger. It must be pretty bad if you can’t wrap it up, throw a glove on it and play.

And after being selfish, not being part of the system, getting placed on waivers, realizing that no one had any interest in him and agreeing to try harder to stay with the team, Nikolay Zherdev supposedly had a strong practice on Friday.

That is all for now.

So much for experimenting with an attitudinal Ukranian. The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that they have placed Nikolay Zherdev on waivers.

“It had eroded to the point where they wanted to see what else is out there,” Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said.

According to Frank Seravelli of the Daily News, Zherdev declined comment on the situation. He ducked out of the team’s practice facility and slid into a limo with a smirk on his face. Zherdev, not Seravelli.

Zherdev came to the Flyers as an upside guy. Talented as hell, but not known as a team guy. He loved to get his goals, but don’t ask him to buy into a system, play defense or bust his rear end.

The Flyers got exactly what they expected. He has 15 goals this season and has shown that, when on the ice, he can be really damn good. But that’s the problem; he hasn’t been on the ice for a while now. And it’s mainly because of his me-first play. 15 goals are nice, but four assists? If you are that productive on the offensive end, you’d have more than four assists. That’s pretty bad.

But, after repeatedly being a healthy scratch, he and his agent want to be done with the Flyers so he see if another team wants to put up with him.

“His agent and Nik, they obviously weren’t very happy with the situation here,” Holmgren said. “They asked us for other options. Nothing really came of that through trade. We’ll see what happens at noon tomorrow.”

Doesn’t seem like anyone was beating down Holmgren’s door to trade for him.

Holmgren was then asked about any future that Zherdev might have with the team.

“That’s a topic for another day,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean anything. The request came to me to get him to another team and I’m following up on it.”

Holmgren then went on to try to explain where the whole Zherdev experiment went wrong.

“I’m not sure, I think about this all the time,” Holmgren said. “It was kind of an experiment to bring him here and see what he can do. There were periods of time it was good. He had 15 goals in limited power-play time and limited minutes.

“But over the course of time here, things have eroded. Nik’s work ethic has probably dropped off. Right now he’s just not fitting in. We’ll see what happens. I think everyone wants to play and I don’t think he’s any different in that regard. The fact that he wasn’t playing, maybe he didn’t respond the right way a lot of times.”

Good player, bad attitude. Pretty much what the Flyers thought they were getting in the first place.