Flyers Notes: Defensive depth may be Flyers trade deadline goal

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren continues to work the phones, trying to improve the team - perhaps adding a depth defenseman - before Monday's trade deadline.

But if he comes up empty, coach Peter Laviolette wouldn't be disappointed.

"I think our guys have done a good job; it's been fairly consistent for us," Laviolette said before Thursday's game against the New York Islanders. "I think everybody's comfortable with our team, the way we play, and the depth."

Entering Thursday, the Flyers led the NHL with 39 wins and were atop the Eastern Conference.

"Adding Kris [Versteeg] was a really nice complement to our team," Laviolette said about the winger acquired from Toronto last week. "It gives us more depth and balance up front. I like our guys."

So does Peter Luukko, president of the Flyers parent company, Comcast-Spectacor.

"If nothing happened," he said of a deadline deal, "we'd be just fine."

Holmgren said he would "explore" adding a defenseman, but hinted he thought the Flyers had enough organizational depth if they needed to add another blue liner.

With Oskars Bartulis sidelined for 10 to 12 weeks, the Flyers may pursue a veteran defenseman such as Buffalo's Craig Rivet, 36, who cleared waivers Thursday, or Colorado's Adam Foote, 39.

Rivet, Buffalo's captain for the last three years, is expected to be placed on reentry waivers Friday, at which point a team could claim him for about $420,000, which is half his salary. Buffalo would pay the other half.

The Flyers announced that Bartulis could miss as much as three months because of impending shoulder surgery. That means he probably wouldn't be available unless the Flyers went deep into the playoffs.

Winger Nik Zherdev cleared waivers but remained with the team. Zherdev participated in the morning skate on Thursday, but, barring an injury, the team plans to send him to Adirondack of the AHL after the weekend, a club source said.

"Nik's still part of our team," Laviolette said before Thursday's game.

Zherdev was a healthy scratch for the seventh straight game, but he will accompany the team to Ottawa for Saturday's contest.

The 34th Annual Flyers Wives Fight for Lives Carnival will be held Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center from 1:30 to 6 p.m. The entire Flyers team and alumni take part in the all-day event, which features the opportunity to take pictures and receive autographs from past and present players, photo opportunities with the Stanley Cup, shots against a Flyers goalie, raffles, a dunk tank, and carnival games.

Since its inception, the carnival has raised more than $23 million for local charities.

For ticket information, call 800-298-4200 or visit www.flyerscarnival.com.

Comcast SportsNet will televise the carnival from 2 to 4 p.m. It also will be available On Demand starting Monday.

The Flyers have not heard from the NHL on whether Philadelphia will be considered as the site for the 2012 Winter Classic. The team is pushing for it, and thinks Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park would be viable options. . . . Blair Betts sat out his third straight game with a lacerated finger. . . . Jody Shelley, who received about 60 stitches in his forehead after a fight Tuesday, was back in the lineup. . . . The Flyers have sold out 26 of their 31 home games. . . . The Flyers started Thursday with seven players among the NHL's top 30 in the plus-minus ratings, a number matched only by Boston.

- Sam Carchidi