As expected, the Flyers Saturday placed high-priced defenseman Randy Jones on waivers, opening cap space that will enable them to keep some other young players on their opening-night roster.
    Jones, 28, who had off-season hip surgery and struggled in the preseason, earns $3 million and has a $2.75 cap hit.
   Should Jones clear waivers and be sent to the AHL Adirondack Phantoms, the Flyers would still be responsible for his salary but it would not count against the $56.8 million cap.
   With the move, the Flyers should be able to keep both James van Riemsdyk and Mika Pyorala _ two impressive rookie wingers _ on their roster. Blair Betts is also expected to make the team.
    The decision also means defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and Danny Syvret figure to be on the roster. Tollefsen will likely be paired with Ryan Parent as the third defensive duo.

   If Jones is sent to the Phantoms and the Flyers attempt to recall him, another team can claim him on re-entry waivers. If that happened, the new team and the Flyers would split the cap hit ($1.375 million apiece).

   The Flyers play a preseason game in New Jersey tonight (WIP radio).

  

  With a week left before the season starts, the Flyers have some tricky roster decisions.

   Foremost: Do they waive defenseman Randy Jones?

   That appears imminent, a club source said Friday.

    If they don't waive him, the Flyers might deal the 28-year-old Jones to the New York Rangers, who are searching for a defenseman.

    If they waive Jones, the Flyers would free up $2.75 million of cap space _ and open spots for defensemen Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and Danny Syvret.

    It would probably also enable them to keep both James van Riemsdyk and Mika Pyorala, wingers who have had impressive training camps.

    GM Paul Holmgren seemed miffed at the Jones speculation after Friday's practice in Voorhees, but another club source said Jones could be waived as early as Saturday.

    If Jones clears waivers and is sent to the AHL Adirondack Phantoms, he would have to go through re-entry waivers before rejoing the Flyers. If a team claimed him on re-entry waivers, they would equally share the cap hit _ $1.375 million _ with the Flyers. 

   The Flyers play their sixth preseason game Saturday night in New Jersey. Brian Boucher, who has struggled in the preseason (4.39 GAA), is slated to play the entire game for the Flyers, while Ray Emery (2.20 GAA) gets the call in Tuesday's preseason finale against visiting Minnesota.

    The Flyers' season begins next Friday in Carolina.

 

 

The Flyers' 2-1 preseason win over the visiting New Jersey Devils Thursday night featured another strong performance by new goalie Ray Emery, an overtime goal by winger Mika Pyorala and two pretty assists from Danny Briere. Emery looked like he was in midseason form as he made 31 saves _ including several acrobatic ones _ and lowered his preseason GAA to 2.20. He also has a .930 save percentage. Pyorala converted a slick feed from Briere and scored from the slot after 1:45 of OT to give the Flyers (2-2-1) the win. The Finn is having a strong preseason and making it difficult for the Flyers to send him to the AHL Adirondack Phantoms. It appears that Blair Betts has made the team as a fourth-line center. That leaves Pyorala _ a 28-year-old who has played eight-plus seasons in Europe _ and talented rookie James van Riemsdyk in a battle for what could be the final available forward spot. The Flyers could keep both of them if they decided to send popular enforcer Riley Cote to the Phantoms. But GM Paul Holmgren said Cote will start the season as part of the Flyers' roster. Cote is a warrior and a great team player. That said, the Flyers would be better served by keeping JVR and Pyorala. The Flyers already have enough hard-nosed players (see Dan Carcillo, Arron Asham, Ian Laperriere, Chris Pronger et al). Keeping Cote becomes a luxury.

    Mark Bell, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound left winger, was released by the Flyers Monday. Bell, who has played in parts of seven NHL seasons, was in camp on a tryout contract.
   He had a pretty assist in Saturday's 5-4 loss in Toronto.

   Earlier in camp, Bell said he would not accept a two-way contract. That ruled out sending him to the AHL Adirondack Phantoms.
    “We didn’t see enough from Mark,” general manager Paul Holmgren said.
     It appears that former Ranger Blair Betts will land a spot on the Flyers’ roster.
     The Flyers trimmed their roster from 59 to 29 Monday by demoting several players to the Phantoms and releasing a handful of players.
    Jared Ross, Jon Kalinski and Andreas Nodl, three players who spent some time with the Flyers last year, were among the forwards sent to the Phantoms.
     The Flyers have 18 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies left in camp. They will likely carry 22 players on their roster when the season starts Oct. 2.
     The Flyers will host the Detroit Red Wings at the Wachovia Center Tuesday. Simon Gagne, who has been sidelined by hip and groin injuries, will make his preseason debut for the Flyers, and winger James van Riemsdyk will continue his quest for a roster spot.
 

TORONTO _ Flyers coach John Stevens preferred to talk about the Flyers' strong second period Saturday night, but that solid 20-minute performance _ which included two Danny Briere goals _ was wasted because of some poor late-game decisions. More to the point: The Flyers committed two late penalties that led to the tying goal and they eventually dropped a 5-4 OT decision in Toronto. The Flyers, who blew a late 4-2 lead, are 0-2-1 in the preseason. They committed an alarming 20 penalties for 60 minutes Saturday and allowed two power-play goals. Yes, it's only the preseason, but if this team is going to be a Stanley Cup contender, it better start showing a more disciplined style that it can carry into the regular season. * * * * In the stats dept., Briere, who seems to have regained the speed he possessed two years ago, was a plus-2. Randy Jones, Mike Richards and JVR were each a minus-2....Chris Pronger, who scored his first goal as a Flyer (power play), played a whopping 29:24. Matt Carle, his defensive partner, played 27:44....The Flyers won just 43 percent of the faceoffs. Faceoffs and penalties killed the Flyers last year and they don't look improved in those areas in the first three preseason games.....Briere won just 4 of 17 faceoffs; Richards won 12 of 21....Saturday's scratches included Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne, Kimmo Timonen and Ryan Parent.

LONDON, Ontario _ After they dropped a 4-0 decision to Toronto Thursday night, the Flyers are 0-2 in the preseason and have been outscored, 7-1. Don’t panic. It’s the preseason. Teams are tinkering with combinations, experimenting with rookies. That said, the Flyers are getting into a habit that was their downfall last season: Too many undisciplined penalties. They allowed Detroit seven power-play opportinites in Wednesday’s 3-1 loss; they allowed the Maple Leafs eight power plays in Thursday's 4-0 defeat. On the bright side, the Flyers have not surrendered a power-play goal in 15 chances, though the Leafs scored one goal Thursday just after a penalty had expired. “I actually thought the effort was a lot better tonight,” said coach John Stevens, adding he was concerned by some of the penalties. “Overall, I thought the guys worked a lot harder tonight. I felt we did some better things as far as puck pursuit, but we need the number of penalties to come down, for sure.” General manager Paul Holmgren said he was impressed with the play of Blair Betts _ who has the inside track on the fourth-center spot _ and rookie left winger James van Riemsdyk. “Blair has played pretty well both games, and James has, too. The list isn’t very long,” Holmgren said. After four fights Thursday, the Flyers and new-look Leafs will play again Saturday in Toronto.

The NHL is trying to play the role of cap police, but, from this perspective, it has no grounds in investigating Chris Pronger's contract. The Flyers signed Pronger to a seven-year deal for $39 million plus. The league is inferring that because Pronger may retire before the deal expires, that the club circumvented the cap. Isn't that what a shrew GM is supposed to do? And besides, how can the NHL predict when Pronger will retire? He very well could play all seven years and retire at 42. Don't the NHL bigwigs have better things to do with their time?  

   The Flyers are about $2.2 million under the cap, so they have some room to add a rather inexpensive free agent.

   Keep in mind that GM Paul Holmgren wants to leave himself a decent cap cushion _ say, $500,000 or so _ so he doesn't have the same cap problems that played a major role in losing home-ice advantage in last season's playoffs. That means the Flyers only have about $1.7 million to spend, tops.

   That said, there are free agents available that are worth a look, including Mike Grier, a good penalty killer who scored 10 goals for San Jose last season. The 6-foot-1, 227-pounder made $1.7 million last year. Free-agent center Radek Bonk is also available and would help with faceoffs. Bonk has four 20-goal seasons on his resume.

   Peter Sykora, who scored 25 goals for Pittsburgh last year, is also unsigned, but he would have to take a big pay cut for the Flyers to fit him under the cap. Sykora made $2.5 million last season. Todd Bertuzzi, who scored 15 goals with Calgary last year, is also unsigned.

   If they don't add a free agent, the Flyers will dip into their farm system for a missing piece.

   In case you missed it, former Flyer backup goalie Antero Niittymaki signed last week with Tampa Bay for $600,000.

 * * * * * * * * * 

   Left winger James van Riemsdyk, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft, hopes to earn a spot with the Flyers in training camp this September. Rick O'Brien has an update on van Riemsdyk in Monday's Inquirer.

   * * * * * * * 

  The Flyers' public-relations staff put together quotes from their six 2009 draft selections who are taking part in the Prospect Camp at the Skate Zone in Vorohees.  They are among 34 players in camp.

   Here goes:

  Adam Morrison, goalie:

“I’ve enjoyed myself all week. It’s been a lot of work. You know it really kind of brings you down to earth on how hard these guys work to get here, so it’s been a lot of fun, but I definitely have to earn my stripes before I am going to be here.”

 

“Everybody’s got a shot, it’s not just one or two guys that can fire the puck. Every single guy out there can pick corners and do it at a hundred miles an hour, so I think that’s the biggest difference. The speed obviously – guys are faster, stronger, but you pick up on that after the first day.”

 

Dave Labrecque, center:

“Since the beginning it was pretty fun. Its tough, but you have to be in shape if you want to be a part of the Flyers, and you’re now in the NHL, so you have to be ready.”

 

Q: Biggest difference coming from junior to an NHL camp…

“I think it’s the physical part. Everybody is bigger, they’re more in shape. They’re stronger, so when you have to go pick up the puck in the corner you have to be more ready than in junior.”

 

Nicola Riopel, goalie:

“My first impression was, just feeling the ice – it was a pretty hard, long camp, we’re kind of getting tired a little, but you just have to keep going. They have a lot of talent in this room. A lot of good guys, so I made some friends and it was a really good week for me.”

 

“The biggest part to work on is that the guys are more talented. The quickness, the speed of the shot, the speed of the play, they’re smarter, they have more patience and that’s the biggest difference for me. I’m going to have to work on my patience and put my eyes always on the puck.”

 

Oliver Lauridsen, defenseman:

“It’s a lot of fun and it’s a lot of new things to get used to, but it’s been hard work. It’s almost over; we only have a few things left. Most of our games are on the big sheet [of ice] and this of course is a small sheet, it makes a big difference. The physical game is a lot different. The physical presence of all the players out there – you can feel you’re playing with bigger and stronger kids here.”

 

Eric Wellwood, left wing:

“It’s tough. I get to see what it’s like to be an NHL player. How much work it’s going to be and I definitely have to do a lot of work to get to where I want to be.”

 

“The guys are much faster; I don’t mean skating faster, but they think faster and they’re much more sharp and I think I have to use my head a lot more quicker and be able to stay up with the pack.”

 

Simon Bertilsson, defenseman:

“It went very well. It’s a bigger ice [surface] over in Sweden so you have to go faster here and there is much more hitting over here.”

 

Q: One aspect you learned from camp…

“The defense - I learned to hit the tape and make a good pass, good first pass and take the puck up through the zone.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 

   Looking for a fun, quick-read beach book for the summer? Try Flyer'd Up, written by Brian Startare, with a foreword by Jim Jackson.

   It's full of stories, trivia and behind-the-scene anecdotes. I especially liked the "What if...." section that looks at how things might have turned out if a certain development didn't take place. For instance: What if the Eric Lindros trade with Quebec had never happened? And: What if Bobby Orr hadn't been called for a late penalty in Game 6 of the Stanely Cup Finals against the Flyers in 1974? And a lot of others.

 

    The Flyers still think they are being penalized, literally, for the sins of their ancestors, a.k.a. the Broad Street Bulllies.
     Some say it’s no coincidence that the Flyers led the NHL with an average of 17.5 penalty minutes per game last season. The referees, they claim, watch the orange and black more closely.
     And now, with the addition of rugged defenseman Chris Pronger (nine career suspensions, an average of about 100 penalty minutes per season) and feisty forward Ian Laperriere (163 PIM last season) _ and having Dan Carcillo (league-high 254 penalty minutes) for a full season _ the Flyers are expected to fill the penalty box in 2009-10.
     “Trust me. This is on the top of my to-do list this summer _ addressing some of those issues,” coach John Stevens said Monday after a news conference in which Pronger was introduced at the Skate Zone in Voorhees.
     Stevens thinks the addition of Pronger will actually help the Flyers DECREASE their penalties.
    “With Chris Pronger, we’ll have the puck more because of his patience, composure and his passing ability,” Stevens said. “I don’t see our team taking more penalties when you have the puck more.”
     Pronger, coupled with the maturity of the Flyers’ young defensemen, should help the team “make better decisions,” Stevens said.
    Stevens has been reviewing the Flyers’ 2008-09 penalty statistics in an effort to learn from past mistakes.
   “I’ve got the breakdown of how many penalties we took by period,” he said. “We took 170 in the first period, 174 in the second and 116 in third. And we were plus-27 in the third period in goals-for and goals-against,” he said.
“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist” to figure out their third-period success.
   Stevens has charted which Flyers have taken penalties in different periods.
   Scott Hartnell took the most first-period penalties. “And you have players like (Kimmo) Timonen and (Braydon) Coburn who are right there,” he said. “To me, one of our focuses is playing in the other end more and cutting down on turnovers. I don’t see Chris taking a lot of penalties if we’re playing above the red line more.”
     With maturity, Stevens said, Hartnell “can eliminate the unnecessary penalties, where you don’t even have to force the referee to make a decision. I think we have a style of play that suits us, and Chris fits that style great. But I think there are some things we can do to drop penalties.”
     Stevens said Laperriere “gets penalty minutes, but he doesn’t put teams at a disadvantage…with bad penalties. Carcillo? How many bad penalties did he take? The one in Ottawa comes to mind late in the year; other than that, I can’t think of one.”
     In any event, this is an area that will surely become a hot topic during the season.
* * * * *
    Pronger is in the final year of his contract and he can become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Pronger's agent, Pat Morris, and Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren have had talks about an extension.
     It may not be easy. Pronger figures to be seeking a four-year extension in the $25 million neighborhood.
   “We’re just getting started,” said Morris, referring to the contract talks. “Whether we can finish is up to both sides, but we’re going to try. And if we can’t, then the player’s got a little bit of a risk and the team probably has a lot of risk because there will always be another place for Chris to play.”
    Morris said Pronger “looks good in a Flyers uniform, and hopefully he doesn’t have to ever take it off. Chris wants to set some roots here in Philadelphia; his wife is here on the trip to look for a house, and all those things point to good things.”
    The Pronger family may settle in Haddonfield, Morris said.
* * * * * *
    Adding Pronger and the 35-year-old Laperriere, a forward known for his defense, should enable the Flyers to improve on last season’s 44-27-11 record, Holmgren believes.
    Holmgren said the Flyers were too inconsistent last season.
   “I attribute that to youth,” he said, “but having Chris and Ian will help, and I also think the maturation process of our young players will be a factor, too. It’s all part of the process.”
    Learning to beat the arch-rival Pittsburgh Penguins is also part of the process, one that excites Pronger. He is already plotting ways to contain Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
   “You have to be physical and take away their time and space _ and make sure they pay a price when you get a chance,” Pronger said.
_ Sam Carchidi