Flyers' Giroux, Couturier possible for Tues.; Del Zotto out for season
The medical update on Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier was encouraging.
The Flyers centers skated at the team's Voorhees practice facility Sunday, and general manager Ron Hextall said both might play in Tuesday's key game in Carolina.
Couturier has missed the last nine games with a foot/ankle injury, and Hextall said he was "ahead of schedule." The Flyers are 3-3-3 in those games.
Giroux sat out Saturday's 5-4 overtime win in Toronto with a suspected head injury.
Giroux, the team's top scorer with 49 points, has a better chance to play Tuesday than Couturier. Hextall said Couturier was possible, but not probable, and he didn't know if the centers would participate in the Monday morning practice.
In a wide-ranging conference call with reporters, Hextall confirmed that defenseman Michael Del Zotto will have wrist surgery Friday and is out for the season, and that he won't negotiate with Brayden Schenn - who can become a restricted free agent in July - until after the season.
Hextall wouldn't say whether Giroux had a concussion. He was elbowed in the head by Montreal's P.K. Subban on Friday.
The GM also said defenseman Evgeny Medvedev, who was hit blocking a third-period shot and left the win in Toronto, was fine. Ditto for goalies Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth.
Mason had muscle cramps and had to leave Saturday's game. Neuvirth has been icing both feet/ankles.
Forward Jordan Weal (upper-body injury) is about two weeks away before he can return, Hextall said.
Trade talk
As for whether the Flyers will be active at the Feb. 29 trade deadline, Hextall said things were "up in the air."
"We're not looking to add a player who is a rental," he said. "That is not going to happen. We're not going to mortgage part of our future to try to push to make the playoffs. We feel comfortable we have enough depth now to make a run."
Hextall may opt to deal a veteran like Mark Streit, Nick Schultz, or Matt Read.