Gagne may be at Flyers' camp

If veteran left winger Simon Gagne is patient, he may return to the Flyers for the 2013-14 season.

The Flyers cannot offer the unrestricted free agent a contract because they do not have cap space at the moment, but general manager Paul Holmgren said he was "kicking around" inviting Gagne to the team's camp next week on a tryout basis.

"But I'm sure he's getting calls from other teams, too," Holmgren said on Tuesday. "I have no gut feeling" as to what Gagne will do.

Gagne's agent, Bob Sauve, was not available to comment.

The Flyers are about $1 million over the $64.3 million cap; they will gain $4.9 million of cap relief, however, when Chris Pronger is put on the long-term injured list when the season starts. That would give them more than enough room to sign Gagne, 33, who collected five goals and 11 points in 27 games after being acquired from Los Angeles last season.

If the Flyers re-sign Gagne, he figures to be on the third line, with center Sean Couturier and right winger Matt Read.

In other news, Holmgren said Braydon Coburn, Nick Grossmann and Andrej Meszaros _ defensemen who missed significant time last season because of injuries _ have been cleared to play. Their return to good health, Holmgren said, is one of the best developments of the off-season.

Holmgren also pointed to the additions of center Vinny Lecavalier, defenseman Mark Streit and goalie Ray Emery as upgrades that will make the Flyers a better team.

"Last year, we had limited depth," he said.

The Flyers' rookies will be in camp Friday through Sunday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. The sessions start at 10:30 a.m. and are free and open to the public.

The veterans' camp will open Sept. 12 at the Wells Fargo Center because of renovations being done to the locker rooms in Voorhees.

The Flyers' first exhibition game is Sept. 15 against Toronto in London, Ontario; they have home exhibition games Sept. 16 (Washington), Sept. 17 (Rangers) and Sept. 24 (New Jersey).

The Flyers open the regular season Oct. 2 against the visiting Maple Leafs, who are probably still reeling from their epic late collapse against Boston in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

Contact Sam Carchidi at scarchidi@phillynews.com. Follow on Twitter @BroadStBull.