It's new life in goal for Biron, Flyers

BOSTON - His pads are still white with yellow, the colors of the Buffalo Sabres, but Martin Biron hopes to have that worked out soon. Biron's new colors are orange and black, and that is something he is very excited about. For the first time in 2 years, since Ryan Miller took the starting job with the Sabres, Biron is a No. 1 goalie, at least for the rest of this season.

That might not seem like much. There are only 19 games left in the season and there will be no playoff run. While his friends and former teammates push for the Stanley Cup, Biron will be watching from a distance.

But there was nothing about Biron that spoke of disappointment yesterday at Bright Hockey Center at Harvard University. After flying here to join his new team, he took his first skate as a Flyer.

"It's very exciting," he said. "I was pumped up for practice, and that's something that doesn't happen very often. You go out there and you want to get as many shots and get the feel. It was great to take the plane out of Buffalo [Tuesday] night and meet the team. It was a lot of fun."

The real fun for Biron will begin tonight when he takes the net for the first time since being traded to the Flyers on Tuesday for a second-round draft pick.

He'll start and Antero Niittymaki will back up; Robert Esche will not dress.

Biron has waited for this moment for months. Since being supplanted by Miller as the starter in Buffalo, he had done his job, but wanted out.

When he was told he had been traded, his thoughts did not involve feeling bad about missing a playoff run to come to a rebuilding team.

"It wasn't so much about leaving a situation behind," he said. "I'm not really that guy that looks back at what happens in the past and the what-ifs.

"I'm moving forward. Everyone knows the situation I was in in Buffalo. I've been the backup for a couple of years, and I've made it open that I wanted to play more games and I wanted to get the chance to compete for more ice time.

"The situation wasn't there and it came up and [Tuesday] when [Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff and general manager Darcy Regier] called me and told me, it felt right.

"I didn't have any regret, I didn't really feel sad, even though I have only been with that one organization. When I was told it was the Flyers, I jumped up, because it was this young team that is moving forward."

For Biron, moving forward with the Flyers means getting the majority of the remaining starts. For John Stevens and Niittymaki and Esche, it is a clumsy situation, one they thought they were done with when the Flyers waived former third goalie Michael Leighton.

"I think everybody was surprised," said Simon Gagne. "We had three goalies already and it was a different situation for everybody, and now we get down to two and then get another one. I have no idea what the team is going to do with three goalies."

Neither did Stevens.

He had an idea, but as of yesterday's practice, he had not had an opportunity to talk with GM Paul Holmgren and work out a plan. That plan, according to Holm-gren on Tuesday, was that all three would practice, one would play, one would back up and one would be scratched.

It was not clear whether Esche would be scratched for all the remaining games, but Holmgren said he is the odd man out. Stevens reiterated that yesterday, saying Biron would start tonight and Esche would not dress.

The second part of the plan is to try to sell Biron, 29, on the Flyers and sign him to a contract for the future. Like Esche, he will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

"It is awkward," Stevens said. "I have to get on the phone with [Holmgren] and come up with a plan exactly how we're going to deal with it. It's not what we envisioned happening. I don't know this, but it seemed that Buffalo was willing to move Biron because they went out and got Dainius Zubris, and when they needed cap space, he became available.

"And then this became something we would have to live with if we could get him on board. We're going to get him in right away and get him playing.

"He's a well-respected goalie in the league, he's done a lot of good things and he's in the prime of his career, so we're anxious to get him in the net."*