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The Gagarin Cup Playoffs: KHL Postseason Starts Today

The KHL playoffs start today, as 16 of the league’s 26 clubs compete for the Gagarin Cup. Since the NHL and KHL are huge competitors, it’s interesting to look at the players on the current KHL playoff teams to see just how many are former Philadelphia Flyers or NHLers. On top of that, some clubs’ prospects are in the 16-team field. It’s also worth noting some of the teams that received help from current NHL players who played a good chunk of the season with a certain KHL season before the lockout concluded. With that being said, here are the previews …

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Captain Claude leads, Bryzgalov gets ShO as Flyers rout Islanders, 7-0

Claude Giroux backed up his words after the loss on Saturday, as he led the Philadelphia Flyers to an emphatic 7-0 win against the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Monday afternoon. The captain, who ripped his teammates for their effort in the wake of listless back-to-back road losses at New Jersey and Montreal, posted two goals and an assist, while he also set the tone early with hustle and physicality. Danny Briere recorded the same stat line and Matt Read had a three-point performance with a goal and two helpers. Jakub Voracek produced a career-high four-assist game, while Ilya Bryzgalov …

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Then and Now: Nolan Baumgartner

After the New York Islanders picked Brett Lindros ninth overall in the 1994 NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals selected defenseman Nolan Baumgartner. The four players picked after the Canadian d-man were former San Jose Shark and New Jersey Devil Jeff Friesen, Wade Belak, Mattias Ohlund, and Ethan Moreau. All four of those players turned out to play more seasons in the NHL than Baumgartner, who totaled 10 years at hockey’s highest level. Baumgartner suited up for the Caps, Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, and the Pittsburgh Penguins before he became a member of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2006. The blue liner signed …

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Then and Now: Lars Jonsson

The first six picks in the 2000 NHL Draft were players who played several years in the league and enjoyed either popularity or notoriety. The group of Rick DiPietro, Dany Heatley, Marian Gaborik, Rostislav Klesla, Raffi Torres, and Scott Hartnell are recognizable names across the NHL for several reasons. With the seventh overall pick in 2000, however, the Boston Bruins selected defenseman Lars Jonsson, who only played in eight NHL games. The blue liner played all his games in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers, as he never suited up for the team that drafted him. Jonsson appeared in a string …

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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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Homer Do’s and Doh’s: Coburn Trade v. Timonen/Hartnell Trade and Eminger Trade v. Upshall Trade

Paul Holmgren became the interim General Manager of the Philadelphia Flyers on October 22, 2006. That interim title was removed only weeks later on November 11. Holmgren was able to take a team that finished last in the National Hockey League, and rebuild it to make a deep run all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals the very next season. Yes, some of Holmgren’s moves have been amazing, but he’s also a guy who has gotten this organization into some hot water with the salary cap and was forced to make deals that were head scratchers to say the least. If you enjoyed …

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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: Sami Kapanen

In the middle of the 2002-2003 regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers shipped defenseman Bruno St. Jacques and winger Pavel Brendl to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a pair of players. Ryan Bast was one player Philly acquired in the deal, a defenseman who only played a pair of games in the NHL, both of which were with the Flyers. The other was Sami Kapanen, a veteran left winger in his eighth season in the NHL. After several seasons with the Hartford Whalers’ organization, who became the Hurricanes in his third season with the club, Kapanen became a member of his …

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Then and Now: Jared Ross

Jared Ross may not be a name every Philadelphia Flyers’ fan remembers for his performance on the ice or his activity off the ice, but many will remember where Ross was born and raised. Several NHL players have been born in the United States of America, but Ross became the first player born in Alabama to play in the National Hockey League, as he comes from the city of Huntsville. Since his time in Philadelphia, this Southerner has played for two different clubs and has posted almost a point-per-game average. Going undrafted out of the University of Alabama-Huntsville, Ross joined the …

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Then and Now: Josh Gratton

Tim Ramholt never played a game for the Philadelphia Flyers. In fact, the only NHL game Ramholt ever took part in was as a member of the Calgary Flames in the club’s  4-1 defeat to the Anaheim Ducks on November 29, 2007. In the 2008-09 season, Ramholt was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers organization, taking part in seven games for the Philadelphia Phantoms before being shipped to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Chris Gratton’s cousin, winger Josh Gratton. Potting two goals and three assists in seven contests to start that season with the Milwaukee Admirals, Gratton split time between …

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