The Philadelphia Flyers are apparently on the forefront of a new medical breakthrough. On Monday afternoon, general manager Paul Holmgren revealed that defenseman and captain Chris Pronger, who has missed the last four games with a virus, apparently will be out of the lineup for another month following surgery on his left knee. “Chris will have surgery on his left knee tomorrow afternoon. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Peter DeLuca. The procedure will clean out some loose particles that have given Chris some problems over the last month or so,” Holmgren said. “We were hopeful that the time missed with …
Schenn comes off LTIR as Flyers shuffle roster again
The never-ending merry-go-round of daily salary-cap compliance continued on Tuesday, as the Flyers activated center Brayden Schenn from long-term injured reserve and promptly assigned him to Adirondack of the American Hockey League. Schenn was expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks after suffering a broken left foot while blocking a shot during an October 26 game in Montreal. Prior to the setback, the former first-round pick of the Kings went scoreless in four games with Philly. Schenn earned a call-up after collecting four goals and four assists in four games with the Phantoms at the start of the year. In addition, the …
Depleted Flyers sunk by spunky Hurricanes
It’s only November, so you might be able to excuse Peter Laviolette’s club if they underperform in a relatively meaningless early-season home game. Still, it was hard to fathom that the Carolina Hurricanes came into Philadelphia and laid a 4-2 licking on the Flyers Monday night. After all, the ‘Canes played on Sunday night (a 3-2 win over Toronto) and traveled north less than 24 hours later. But without the services of Chris Pronger (virus) and Braydon Coburn (upper-body injury), the visitors were able to put a stranglehold on the game early and hang on for the victory. Alexei Ponikarovsky …
Jets work up big lead, hold on to down Flyers
The Winnipeg Jets played like a turbo booster propelled their skates during the first half of Saturday’s matinee. Good thing Ondrej Pavelec played the whole time. Despite rolling up a 5-1 advantage roughly midway through regulation thanks to a parade of defensive miscues and penalties by Philadelphia, the Jets fell prey to their own defensive follies but managed to escape with a 6-4 victory at MTS Centre. Bryan Little scored twice, Dustin Byfuglien notched a goal and two assists, while Nik Antropov netted a key empty-net score late for Winnipeg. Pavelec wound up with 27 stops in the contest, though …
Howe’s #2 to be retired on March 6
And then there was five. Mark Howe will join the ranks of the illustrious in Flyers history, as he will have his #2 retired by the club prior to their March 6 game against the Detroit Red Wings, according to multiple sources. Makes sense, right? It will close a gap of 22 almost years since the last number was raised to the roof, then at the Spectrum, when Bill Barber saw his #7 elevated early in the 1990-91 season. Howe didn’t win a Stanley Cup during his 10-season tenure in Philadelphia, and he’ll be the first player so honored that didn’t …
Flyers’ quiet storm overwhelms Hurricanes
On a night when the best defenseman in club history, Mark Howe, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes conducted a hockey game in which Howe would not feel out of place. He’d be content with the results — a 5-3 Philly victory — as well as the tenor of the action which included a pair of short-handed goals and a penalty shot sandwiched between generous bouts of offense. Ultimately, it was rookie Matt Read who put the capper on the victory, as his tip-in goal with 3:51 to play in regulation provided the necessary insurance. Claude …
Howe inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame with class, key messages
You might think that Mark Howe, the newest former Philadelphia Flyer to be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, might introduce the meat of his speech by dedicating a few words to his family, his former teammates, or his famous father. But the 56-year-old kicked off his time at the podium in downtown Toronto this evening by addressing a situation that has been largely ignored: that of compensation for the victims of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl air tragedy, which occurred on September 7 and claimed the life of the club’s head coach and Howe’s former teammate, Brad McCrimmon. “I hope …
Remembering Pelle
First, a simple tribute to Number 31, with musical accompaniment. I think this particular clip plays perfectly to the emotions of the time, even if you’re not a fan of 80′s hair metal. Here’s Connie Chung hosting a short-lived NBC magazine show called “American Almanac,” early in calendar year 1986, and the report on the circumstances surrounding Pelle’s death. And finally, an interview of unknown origin (though I suspect it was either broadcast on CBC or PRISM) from the Summer of 1985.
Yield and Increase in College Hockey
Like Kurt Vonnegut wrote many times: So it goes. The University of Alabama-Huntsville heard the death knell for its men’s hockey program two weeks ago, thanks to an outgoing interim chancellor with a fetish for finding local talent to stock its athletic programs — something which does not compute when you slide “Alabama” next to “hockey” by any logic. RIP Chargers. Please select your resting place alongside such former luminaries as Illinois-Chicago, Fairfield, Findlay, Iona, Kent State, Wayne State and MIT. Aside from feeling the gut punch from having yet another school’s hockey program fall by the wayside without so …
Coburn gets multi-year extension
The Flyers announced this morning that they have given defenseman Braydon Coburn a multi-year contract extension. It has been reported that a league source revealed the pact to be worth $18 million over four seasons. The average annual cap hit will be $4.5 million per year for the duration — an increase of $1.3 mil from his previous extension. In his fifth season with the organization, Coburn has totaled three assists in 14 games with 19 PIM and a plus-one rating. A former first-round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2003 draft, the 26-year-old Calgary native has totaled 26 …