Emery sidelined; Flyers make deal
The Flyers traded defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen on Saturday to Detroit.
Emery sidelined; Flyers make deal
UPDATED: Michael Leighton will start in goal tonight for the Flyers in Minnesota.
Ray Emery will not play because of "tightness in his left hip," according to general manager Paul Holmgren.
EARLIER:
The Flyers made a depth trade with the Detroit Red Wings early on Saturday.
They sent defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, who has struggled with injuries this season, and a 5th round pick in the 2011 Draft to Detroit for forward Ville Leino.
Leino, 26, has 4 goals and 3 assists in 42 games with the Red Wings this season.
"Ville is a skilled forward that is going to give us some depth," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. "I think he has the ability to play up and down our lineup and play with our skilled players. We're excited to have him."
Leino is expected to join the Flyers in Minnesota at some point today. Even if he arrives before game time, Leino will not be in the lineup against the Wild (8:00 p.m.) tonight.
Leino has showed a scoring touch in the past - it just hasn't converted to the NHL. He posted 46 points in 57 games with Grand Rapids (AHL) last season and an impressive 77 points in 55 games in the relatively low scoring Finnish League in 2007-08 with Jokerit. He was named league MVP that season.
Tollefsen, 25, was signed by the Flyers as a free agent this summer. He has missed 23 games with a concussion and sprained right MCL. He was also a healthy scratch for 14 contests. Tollefsen will represent Norway in the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Leino's cap hit of $800,000 is $200,000 more than Tollefsen's, which leaves the Flyers with about $700,000 in cap room while carrying the maximum 23-man roster. If the Flyers needed to clear cap space for another move, Riley Cote ($550k) and extra goalie Brian Boucher ($925k) could be moved to the Phantoms through waivers to make room.
Follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DNFlyers for the latest updates.
who cares...— jmg7738- Flyers need to buy out or release both Gagne and Briere after this season. The money those two are stealing from the Flyers is criminal.— BobbyD
- dear haters, remember when you whined and cried about this team being in last place? Then, IN ONE YEAR Holmgren did what he could to make the team competitive again. Yeah, he mismanaged the cap-but he did what had to be done to shut you bandwagon fans up. All I have heard this year is "we hate briere" and "emery sucks" and "i can do better than holmgren". Just please shut up. If you dont want to support the team, go root for the Pens or Caps-they love bringing on the bandwagon fans. And as far as the "scrubs" brought in-have you watched them play? Leighton was and still has been dominant. LK has played better than Cobourn thus far. Emery has been great, and even tried to play through an injury to help the team? You're telling me he has no heart? Trade Carter? Who replaces him then? Trade Gagne? Sure, trade the inner heart of the team. The only trade I see is Hartnell going west to a playoff team. Wake up Negladelphia, this is a good team. And they will get better. Some of us actually support the team no matter what and look at the positives.— BFisch
- you mean jay leino???? what a joke this organization has become....snider and company are dillusional with the sicksers and flyers (SISSIES). they have no scoring or leadership....they need to start from scratch...they way overate themselves...— mightyonk
- you mean jay leino???? what a joke this organization has become....snider and company are dillusional with the sicksers and flyers (SISSIES). they have no scoring or leadership....they need to start from scratch...they way overate themselves...— mightyonk
- you mean jay leino???? what a joke this organization has become....snider and company are dillusional with the sicksers and flyers (SISSIES). they have no scoring or leadership....they need to start from scratch...they way overate themselves...— mightyonk
- How many years ago was that FlyersFan88? I guess it was Clarkie who gave Briere, Harnell and Pronger those ridiculous contracts too.
- to be moved. Tollefsen is a liability so who cares. Maybe a change of pace for a guy who was good at the Finnish Elite level. I am hoping he is good on the forecheck. Love those guys.— rockinrob
- It all really comes down to the fact that since the lockout it is a whole new NHL world. You must manage the present, the future, your payroll, and most important do everything with respect to the salary cap. It appears the Flyers have failed in that regard. They better treasure their past (they do that real well) because I honestly don't think there is a Stanley Cup in the foreseeable future. They have mortgaged their future by trading too many draft picks, a trend with no apparent end in sight. They have banked on specific players for the long term that can't be traded, and are overpaid and possibly over-rated. Goaltending, we don't need to go there. There appears to be some kind of a leadership issue, and to make matters really miserable, they play in a conference with other teams that have PROVEN young players, a couple that have won a Cup already at their young age. If the Devils can sign Kovalchuk, it's even worse. Someone please tell me what I fail to see as hope for this franchise. I just can't see how they are going to improve and get better than the competition. With pompous Mr Snider at the helm, we don't even have ownership that is willing to admit that he doesn't really know what he is doing. He sure knows how to make money (we all know that, he has taken plenty from most of us) but he really doesn't know how to win a Cup. I honestly question whether that is so high on his agenda anymore. We are doomed fellow Flyers fans, sadly we are all doomed by the incompetence that runs the franchise that we love.— FlyFifty8
- Holmgren is starting to make me feel like he is the Ruben Amaro of the winter.— dr.elektrika
- Love Scott Hartnell...he's a true Flyers player. Let's not forget that.— phillyphan11
- Big move getting Ville Leino in time for the home and home with the Devils! I was a bit concerned about those two games, not any more.— Gus L.
- You people are morons. This kid is actually good and this deal was to make a bigger deal-- Whitney, Souray or Ponikarovsky. We need to get rid of a goalie to get some more cap room. Who cares about draft picks! Draft means nothing, Jagr was picked after mike ricci and nedved, so you never know..— fman727
- Well I hope there's no one good in the draft for the next few years because at the rate Homer gives our picks away we'll be lucky to get a pick before 2013. I'm glad we got another forward though. Maybe if we keep adding forwards at least one of them will score and we won't be shut out against the worst team in the league with a rookie goalie whose record is 11-20. WTF Flyers??????— Kanayd
- I don't understand why we gave away a pick AND OKT, given Detroit needed a player to waive and not loose. If Detroit had waived Leino, would have been claimed. Why couldn't this be just a one - up trade?— Danno
