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Then and Now: Jon Sim

Jon Sim became a member of the Philadelphia Flyers’ organization during the 2004-2005 season, when he became a member of the Philadelphia Phantoms in exchange for Peter White. After he played in 10 games alongside Keith Ballard, Kiel McLeod, and Fredrik Sjostrom for the Utah Grizzlies in their final season in the American Hockey League, Sim joined the 2005 Calder Cup winners for the final 63 regular season games of the title year. He recorded the second-most points for the Phantoms with 35 goals and 26 assists for 61 points, four shy of R.J. Umberger’s total. The difference was Umberger …

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Then and Now: Mattias Timander

The Philadelphia Flyers acquired defenseman Mattias Timander late in January of 2004 from the New York Islanders in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2004 NHL Draft. The Isles used the Flyers’ draft pick, which Philly obtained by swapping a pair of picks with the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2003 draft, to draft defenseman Chris Campoli, who played in 233 games for New York before also playing for the Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks, and Montreal Canadiens. Of the 40 games Timander played for the Islanders’ franchise during the 2003-04 campaign, 35 were for the Isles’ AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport …

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Then and Now: Freddy Meyer

In May of 2003, the Philadelphia Flyers signed defenseman Freddy Meyer to an entry-level contract. The mobile d-man was coming off a season at Boston University where he had five goals and 16 assists in 38 games as the Terriers’ captain. During the 2003-2004 season with the Flyers’ organization, Meyer spent the majority of the campaign in the AHL with the Philadelphia Phantoms. He had the second-most goals for a blue liner on the team with 14 goals in 59 games, while John Slaney led the team with 19 goals in the same number of tilts as Meyer. The American defender also had 14 helpers, 50 PIMs, …

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Then and Now: Jamie Fritsch

Jamie Fritsch only played one game in the NHL. Unfortunately for Philadelphia Flyers’ fans, his big break could have waited a little bit longer. Similar to this season, the Flyers played the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2009 playoffs, as the Pens held the fourth seed in the East and Philly finished fifth. During the 2008-2009 season, however, Philly had a hold on the fourth seed in the East going down the stretch while the Pens had to hope for a shot at home-ice advantage. Going into their final game of the season, all the Flyers needed to do was register a point …

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Then and Now: Ole-Kristian Tollefsen

After his fourth season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen signed with the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2009 offseason. Known as a tough and physical defender, the Norwegian played all of 18 games for the Orange and Black before being traded away for a crucial piece in the Flyers’ 2010 playoff run. Tollefsen endured all his games in the Orange and Black from October 8th, 2009, which was the Flyers’ first loss of the season in a 5-4 decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins, to January 30th, 2010, a 2-1 win for Philly over the New York Islanders. In that time the defenseman …

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Then and Now: Eric Meloche

One of the most unfortunate trades for the Philadelphia Flyers in recent years was there decision to ship Patrick Sharp off to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Matt Ellison. As part of the deal the Orange and Black received the Hawks’ third-round pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, which Philly gave to the Montreal Canadiens and saw the Habs select center Ryan White, while the Flyers also gave Chicago forward Eric Meloche. Everybody knows what happened to Sharp and Ellison, but the career of Meloche isn’t as noteworthy. In the 2012-2013 season, Meloche is set to join his fourth different team in his second different …

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A look around the Atlantic Division

By now, we know that the Flyers have “struck out” on all big free-agent items and failed to acquire Shea Weber. Right now, if you had to grade the Flyers offseason, what would you give them? Furthermore, what grade would you give the rest of the Flyers’ Atlantic Division foes? Let’s take a look at the rest of the division’s key acquisitions and losses, and where each of its member teams stand thus far through the end of free agency. New York Rangers Key Additions: F Rick Nash, Chris Kreider, Arron Asham. Key Losses: F Brandon Prust, F Brandon Dubinsky, …

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Then and Now: Kyle Greentree

Kyle Greentree has played in 373 AHL games, but has only taken part in four NHL games. Two of his four games in the NHL were with the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2007-2008 season. Although he has yet to register a point in the NHL, Greentree has four 20-goal seasons in the AHL. After his third season at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Greentree joined the Philadelphia Phantoms for the end of the 2006-07 season. The left winger deposited two goals in eight games, as he scored in back-to-back contests. Greentree’s presence on the team didn’t matter much, as Philadelphia …

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2011-2012 NHL Awards: Recap

In case you missed the NHL Awards (lucky you) or if you want to re-live them (and who doesn’t?) here is a recap.   The Lulz feature was originally inspired by the lolcats site but features hockey pictures with funny, quirky, ironic or just plain mean captions. This feature should run weekly on Fridays; TGIFWL (Thank Goodness It’s Friday With Lulz).

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Then and Now: Mike York

In his first few weeks as General Manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, Paul Holmgren made a handful of trades in an attempt to pull Philly out of last place in the NHL. With the Orange and Black in the midst of a seven-game losing streak to drop to a record of 8-21-4, Holmgren pulled the trigger on his fourth deal in office. After he acquired Darren Reid, Todd Fedoruk, and Alexei Zhitnik in separate deals, Holmgren grabbed Mike York from the New York Islanders in exchange for Randy Robitaille and a fifth-round pick in the 2008 NHL draft. The Isles chose Matt Martin with the …