Ryan Parent leading the Flyers' young players

From Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

The defenseman, who is still on an entry-level contract, is participating in this week's prospect camp at the Skate Zone in Voorhees simply because general manager Paul Holmgren could bring him in.

"It's certainly not a punishment that he's here," Holmgren said. "We view him as one of our top young players. Right now, more than anything, we're relying on his leadership with some of these other young players who are just getting started."

Read the entire article here.

Parent is expected to crack the Flyers' top-six defense this season and should be an integral part of the team's future.

Hockey News names John Stevens coach of the year

From Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News:

But Stevens stood behind his team and his staff, and yesterday, Stevens was honored by The Hockey News, which named him coach of the year for leading the Flyers from the bottom of the league to the Eastern Conference finals in one season.

"[Stevens] is the coach that we deemed did the best job in the regular season and postseason," Hockey News editor Jason Kay said yesterday. "John did a great job in leading a great turnaround, but also the style that he employs, such a calm demeanor behind the bench, is an example of his leadership.

Read the entire article here.

Stevens did a tremendous job behind the Flyers' bench this season and Stevens was definitely a deserving recipient of this award.

Lupul extension is official

From Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

The Flyers did just that yesterday by signing the 24-year-old Lupul to a four-year extension, worth $17 million through the 2012-13 season.

Lupul will make $2.3 million this coming season. The extension has no effect on this year's cap, which the Flyers have nearly reached.

"The Flyers have put a big commitment in me and a lot of other young guys who have been locked up for years to come," Lupul said in a statement. "The way that we can kind of all continue to play and develop these relationships on and off the ice, it is pretty exciting."

Read the entire article here.

Lupul's average salary over the course of the extension will $4.25 million per season. The Edmonton native should become a consistent 30 goal scorer in Philly, so this contract seems like a pretty reasonable one for both sides.

Downie not dwelling on the playoffs

From Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Downie, the Flyers' 2005 first-round pick, said he's focusing exclusively on his skating during this summer. He is working on losing weight to go along with a lot of power skating drills.

Making the team out of camp in the fall isn't a given. Right wing is all of a sudden a crowded position, with Mike Knuble, Joffrey Lupul, rookie Claude Giroux and free-agent acquisition Arron Asham all in the mix, along with Downie.

"Nothing's guaranteed," Downie said. "That makes everyone work that much harder. There will be a lot of competition in camp."

Read the entire article here.

Downie brings a real edge to his game, but sometimes he goes over that edge. If he can improve his decision-making and continue to play his rugged style, the youngster should crack the Flyers' opening day roster.

Lupul close to extension with Flyers

From Sam Carchidi of the philly.com:

Right winger Joffrey Lupul is close to signing a four-year contract extension with the Flyers.

Lupul, who had the second 20-goal season of his career last season, denied an Edmonton radio report that he had agreed to a four-year extension, but he acknowledged that the sides were near a deal.

"We're still talking, but it's not finished yet," he said yesterday. "Hopefully, it'll get done early next week."

Read the entire story here.

The initial reports had Lupul's contract averaging around $4.5 million per season. The Edmonton native should eventually become a consistent 30 goal scorer, so something around $4 million certainly isn't unreasonable.

Remembering the Spectrum

From Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News:

It was announced yesterday that the cozy Spectrum will be torn down following the 2008-09 indoor seasons. So here's a look back at the 10 most memorable Spectrum moments . . . in one person's eyes, of course:

10 Not exactly a great beginning for the new building when, on March 1, 1968, during an Ice Capades show, a portion of the roof blew off, forcing its closure for a month. The Sixers moved home games to Convention Hall and the Palestra. It wasn't so easy for the first-year Flyers, who were forced to play five "home" games at Le Colisee in Quebec City, where their AHL affiliate Quebec Aces played, and one each at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens and New York's Madison Square Garden.

Read the entire list here.

I know this list isn't strictly hockey, but I figured I'd post it anyways.

Eric Desjardins hired by Flyers

From Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Eric Desjardins, one of the best defensemen in the Flyers' history, was named the club's player-development coach yesterday.

"Eric will be a great asset to the organization as he works with our young drafted players, helping them to prepare their game for the next level," general manager Paul Holmgren said. "Eric was a great Flyer, and his experience will be invaluable to the young players in our system."

Read the entire article here.

Not much analysis needed her, just thought I'd let you know of this hire.

The Philadelphia Spectrum is coming down

From Peter Mucha of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"This will be the final year of the Spectrum," Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider announced this morning.

"This has been one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make," he said. "The Spectrum is my baby. It's one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me, but after a lot of thinking and discussions, we all feel it is in our best interest to close the Spectrum at the conclusion of the upcoming 2008-09 Philadelphia Phantoms and Kixx seasons."

Read the entire story here.

Many Flyers fans experienced their best years watching games at the Spectrum.

Thoresen signs on with Swiss League

From TSN:

Former Philadelphia Flyers forward Patrick Thoresen signed a one-year contract with Swiss hockey club Lugano.

Thoresen told Norwegian news agency NTB he is looking forward to a year in Switzerland, but plans to return to the NHL after that.

''I want to return to the NHL, I'm not denying that. That is where I want to play,'' the 24-year-old Norwegian said.

Read the entire story here.

No surprise here, as Thoresen was rumored to be headed back overseas as recently as last week. His loss won't matter much to the Flyers, as Thoreson was merely a fourth-line forward on a deep team.

Flyers wish Jason Smith well in Ottawa

From the Philadelphia Daily News:

General manager Paul Holmgren said yesterday the team felt all along that someone was going to offer Smith more than they would. They had informed him recently that with the contracts of Randy Jones and newly acquired Steve Eminger, he would not fit into team's budget for next season. Smith earned $1.9 million last season.

"I figured that someone would give him enough money this week that we couldn't come close," Holmgren said by phone, "and that sounds like what happened. But we wish him well. He's a great person, obviously a good leader, and a good guy to have on your team."

Read the entire article here.

Paul Holmgren shows class with the way he praises Smith for his work with the Flyers and wishes him well. The team will certainly miss his leadership.

Jason Smith signs with Senators

From the Globe & Mail:

The Ottawa Senators announced Tuesday that the club has signed defenceman Jason Smith to a two-year contract.

The 14-year National Hockey League veteran has acted as team captain in each of his last six NHL seasons, including 2007-08 with the Philadelphia Flyers and the previous five seasons with the Edmonton Oilers.

Read the entire article here.

While Smith struggled last year with the Flyers, the veteran defenseman is a good pick-up by the Senators. Smith will bring leadership, toughness and accountability to a team that sorely needs it.

Boyle to decide between three teams

From Darren Dreger of TSN:

The Vancouver Canucks are one of three teams in the running for veteran defenseman, Dan Boyle.

Sources tell TSN the Canucks, San Jose Sharks and Philadelphia Flyers are the three teams Boyle is considering, however he has yet to waive his no-trade clause to clear the way for a trade.

The belief is Boyle will consent to trade at some point today and will select the team of his choice, however until he officially waives his no-trade, there is always a chance the Lightning's efforts to move him may be scuttled.

Read the entire report here.

The Sharks seem like the perfect landing spot for Boyle. The team could use a top-tier defenseman and has been looking for one for some time now. If the Sharks could add Rob Blake and Dan Boyle in consecutive days, then they would have to be considered the co-favorites (with Detroit) for the Western Conference crown next season.

Philadephia also could be a nice fit for Boyle. The team desires a puck-moving defenseman and would like to get quicker on the blue line. Boyle obviously satisfies both of those needs. One problem, the Flyers are already over the cap, so unless they trade substantial salary back to Tampa, then they will be behind the 8-ball the rest of the summer trying to shed salary. Additionally, Tampa would probably be less apt to trade Boyle within the conference, especially to a contending team like the Flyers.

Vancouver is an intriguing team for Boyle as well. Considering the team needs forwards and is fairly secure on defense, it is interesting that they are this heavily involved in negotiations. However, they have more than enough cap space to fit Boyle into their payroll and they obviously realize Boyle's ability to change the game from the back-end. This would be a nice acquisition for the Canucks and would give them one of the top five defensive corps in all of hockey.

Prospal was never happy in Philadelphia

From Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News:

Paul Holmgren knew right away that Vaclav Prospal was not happy to be returning to Philadelphia.

"Right after we made the trade [at the deadline in February] when I talked to him, he let me know he wasn't very happy. We talked about it and what I told him was, 'You scratch my back I'll scratch yours,' " the Flyers general manager said yesterday.

"I told him that if he played well here it would only improve his status."

Read more about yesterday's Prospal trade here.

Interesting story. Even though Prospal wasn't ever happy in Philly, he sure did play well down the stretch last season to help the Flyers make the playoffs. In fact, he played better than I had anticipated. Good for Holmgren for staying true to his word and handling a tough situation professionally.

Update: Here are Jay Feaster's comments on the trade, courtesy of the Tampa Tribune.

"While we realize some of the risks involved in this strategy we also know that Prospal and Vinny Lecavalier have a very special chemistry together and getting Prospal back in the fold early would enable us to focus our time, attention and resources on other critical areas this summer while leaving our successful top line virtually intact," Feaster said. "At the end of the day, we felt that reacquiring Vinny now and attempting to negotiate a contract with him sooner rather than later was in the best interests of the organization."

Read more about the Prospal trade from the Lightning perspective here.

Lupul on the trading block?

Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: "The Flyers' season has only been over for 10 days and already Joffrey Lupul's name is popping up as possible trade bait to get more speed on the back-end, certainly an achilles heel for Philadelphia. If not Fort Saskatchewan's Lupul, then it's Fort McMurray's Scottie Upshall. Both had good playoffs for the Flyers, with Lupul eliminating the Washington Capitals in Game 7 in overtime in the first playoff round and Upshall being a general pest with some offensive touch."

Here is the full article courtesy of the Edmonton Journal.

It wouldn't be the spring without a Joffrey Lupul rumor. That being said, Matheson is one of the most connected writers in North America and when he writes a rumor there is most certainly some substance to it. In fact, trading Lupul for some back-end help makes sense for the Flyers. Maybe the Oilers are interested? They have a young mobile defenseman named Joni Pitkanen who is reportedly on the block.... (I kid, I kid).

Update: Jonathan over at Copper & Blue also had Pitkanen come to mind. It just makes too much sense...

Penguins versus Flyers at Penn State?

Gary Bettman: "The possibility of having the Penguins play the Flyers at some point in Happy Valley is intriguing and it's on the list of possibilities that we are and will explore. I also have no doubt that if you played every year in Happy Valley the weather would not cooperate every year. These games are difficult to put on. They're risky. They're expensive. And they're dependent on things that are not within our control."

Here is the full article from Philly.com.

I am not overly surprised by Bettman's comments. First off, without any concrete information about outdoor games in the future, I do not expect Bettman to start curbing fan enthusiasm over this particular possibility. He is better off feeding the fire which he has done with these vague comments. In the end, there is not much to read into here.

Simon Gagne would like to see the NHL enforce all blows to the head

Quote Gagne: "If it's elbow to the head, it's illegal, but if it's shoulder to the face, it's legal," he said. "I think I have a little bit of a problem with that. I mean, it looks like I'm crying because I had the injury, but I hope nobody else on my team has to go through what I did. Hopefully, [the NHL] will take a look at it. Guys are bigger, stronger and faster. I would like to see the league do something."

Here is the full article by Ray Parillo.

My take: Gagne raises an interesting point here. However, I don't see the NHL budging on this issue. If the NHL begins to enforce harsh penalties against shoulders to the head, I see many of the NHL's brain trust complaining about the lack of physical play that would result from the prospective rule.

Paul Holmgren not too concerned about signing Jeff Carter

Quote Holmgren on Jeff Carter: "We'll get him signed," Holmgren said, flatly. "I have no doubts about that . . . I refuse to live in fear [of what other teams might do]."

Here is the full article by Ed Barkowitz of the Philadelphia Daily News.

My take: I like Jeff Carter as a player, but I wonder if the Flyers would match a high-price offer for his services. They already have centers Mike Richards and Daniel Briere under long-term contracts at big bucks. To match a Carter offer, would have them spending too much cash up the middle. Especially with their need for help on defense. If a team were to sign the restricted free agent to a deal about $4.5-5 million, I see the Flyers taking the draft picks as compensation and letting Carter walk.

Eastern Conference Final - Morning Papers

• After Braydon Coburn took a puck in the face, the Flyers probability to win the game went down significantly. With many players falling to injuries, or playing banged up, the Flyers can't afford any careless mistakes like the one Steve Downie made last night.
• Coburn's left eye is swollen shut right now, he's putting ice on it, and is "possible" for tomorrow nights game.
  
• Down in the series 2-0, the Flyers have lost their number one and possibly number two defensemen (Timonen/Coburn). However, one thing remains constant, Mike Richards is doing a heckuva job leading them.
• Coming back from injury, Maxime Talbot wasn't expected to produce. But he contributed in a significant way scoring the game winning goal. I was watching the game last night with my dad and we were not sure how Gary Roberts knew where Talbot was on that play. Roberts says that Talbot called for it and based on the positioning of the defesnsemen he (Roberts) figured Talbot was wide open. Way to communicate out there boys.
• Marc-Andre Fleury has been dy-no-mite these playoffs and is apart of their successes as much as Crosby and Malkin. Since returning from injury, Fleury's play has picked up considerably and the Penguin's commitment to defense puts Fleury in a position to stop pucks.
• Penguins defenseman Mark Eaton is likely out for the remainder of the playoffs recovering from reconstructive knee surgery. Marc-Andre Fleury questions weather Ribeiro's stick to Osgoods chest protector really hurt.
  

NHL Morning Papers--Conference Finals!

My apologies for the delay in getting these posted, but my sleep was more important. If you wanna crown my ass for that, then go ahead and crown it. I am who I thought I was. And that is lazy.

Eastern Finals

Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia

---Setting a new record for putting the cart before the horse, Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette says it’s not too early for the Pens to be talking sweep.

---According to someone smarter than Ron Cook, Bob Smizik resisted the urge to make bold outlandish predictions, and instead said that the best two players on the ice last night were Gene Malkin and Sid Crosby.

---Yet another columnist smarter than Ron Cook, Shelly Anderson astutely pointed out that the Flyers have much experience in these playoffs responding to 1-0 deficits.

---Tim Panaccio of the Philly Inquirer, says that the Flyers knew how important it was to play a clean, turnover free game, and in not doing so, they ended up losing.

---Ray Parrillo of the Inquirer seems to be calling out for a replay of the Bobby Clarke-Valeri Kharmalov slash from the 1972 Summit Series, in saying that the Flyers were unable to stop Malkin last night.

---Phil Sheridan said that the emotion the Flyers used as momentum to begin the game, only took them far enough to lose last night, and at some point, skill overtakes emotion.

Western Finals

Detroit vs. Dallas

---JJ Taylor of the Dallas Morning News reports that Stars head coach Dave Tippett has scrapped his game 1 defensive pairings and is going back to the drawing board to find the right mix.

---Mike Heika has all the intricate news and notes hockey junkies crave in his game-day notebook.

---In an impressive bit of ironic writing, Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press, says that “Hockeytown is back” because there were higher TV ratings and fewer empty seats at a CONFERENCE FINALS PLAYOFF GAME, then there had been at previous years.

---For all those who have been demanding more information about Wings D-man Niklas Kronwall, Helene St. James has the goods for us all.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Drew Mindell

If you have any thoughts, questions or ideas, please post them in the Comments!

Morning Papers: Timonen Injury is a Big Blow to the Flyers

• Kimmo Timonen had never been more disappointed as a hockey player, when he discovered he would be out for the playoffs with a blood clot. If he did play, and got hit in the same spot again, his toes could be amputated. It's best he sit this one out.
• While the Flyers' have sustained many injuries this year, none will have more impact than losing 25 minute per game Timmonen. Jaroslav Modry or Ryan Parent will replace him in the lineup.
• Phil Sheridan introduces the Flyers' to new hockey fans, calling Mike Richards the Chase Utley of the Flyers and Braydon Coburn the Flyers' best defensemen since Mark Howe.
• Dave Molinari gives an in depth breakdown of the series. The Pittsburgh writer calls for Penguins in six.
• The Penguins have overcome bankruptcy and four consecutive last place finishes (leading to several number one overall draft picks) and are 4 wins away from the cup. The Penguins are capturing Pittsburgh's under 30 fans and are better role models than the NFL's steelers.
  
• The Battle of Pennsylvania has a bit of a history.