Then and Now: Ville Leino

By Craig F
Posted on 05/08/2013 at 11:00 am

After spending parts of six seasons in the SM-liiga, Ville Leino became a member of the Detroit Red Wings’ organization for the 2008-2009 campaign. The forward spent time with the Tampereen Ilves, HPK, and Jokerit before he spent most of his first season with the Wings’ franchise in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Leino saw regular season and postseason action for both the Griffins and Red Wings during 2008-2009, as he posted 46 points in 57 games with Grand Rapids and nine points in 13 tilts with Detroit. In the AHL playoffs, Leino totaled three goals and 10 …

Image courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Atlantic Watch: Flyers aren’t out yet, Pens clinch the division, Islanders sit in seventh, Devils endure long losing streak

By Craig F
Posted on 04/10/2013 at 11:00 am

The Philadelphia Flyers entered this week on a winning streak, but they left it on a losing skid and can now only hope they receive some help to make the postseason. With four of their final nine games coming up in the next week, the Orange and Black will likely find out if they will be heading to the playoffs by April 17th. The Flyers won their third straight game on Wednesday night with a 5-3 comeback decision over the Montreal Canadiens in Philly. Wayne Simmonds tied the game with a little over five minutes left before Erik Gustafsson’s first …

Then and Now: Lars Jonsson

By Craig F
Posted on 12/19/2012 at 9:00 am

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 …

Then and Now: Mattias Timander

By Craig F
Posted on 11/21/2012 at 9:00 am

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 …

Then and Now: Ossi Vaananen

By Craig F
Posted on 11/07/2012 at 9:00 am

After playing the 2007-2008 season in the Elitserien, defenseman Ossi Vaananen returned to the NHL to play for the Philadelphia Flyers. The Finn signed a one-year contract worth $1 million for the 2008-2009 campaign. Vaananen participated in a total of 46 games for Philly. He registered nine assists and ten points overall. The blue liner also deposited his final goal in the NHL (go to :55), which came in the first period of the Flyers’ 5-4 shootout win over the Anaheim Ducks on January 2nd, 2009. The contest also featured Josh Gratton’s lone goal for the Orange and Black, as …

Then and Now: Freddy Meyer

By Craig F
Posted on 10/24/2012 at 9:00 am

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, …

Then and Now: David Printz

By Craig F
Posted on 10/17/2012 at 9:00 am

In the 2001 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers picked Swedish defenseman David Printz 225th overall in the seventh round. The blue liner was selected two picks before the Colorado Avalanche chose Marek Svatos and four picks before the New Jersey Devils chose Aaron Voros. Printz joined the Flyers’ organization in the 2004-2005 regular season, as he spent time with the Trenton Titans and the Philadelphia Phantoms. The d-man only played in two games for the Titans recording an assist in the process. He participated in 50 regular season games with the Calder Cup winners posting a goal and five assists along with 66 PIMs. For …

Then and Now: Lasse Kukkonen

By Craig F
Posted on 10/03/2012 at 9:00 am

One of the many trades Paul Holmgren made during the 2006-2007 season was one that resulted in Lasse Kukkonen coming to Philadelphia from the Chicago Blackhawks. In exchange for Kyle Calder, the Flyers acquired Kukkonen and Chicago’s third-round draft pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, with which Philly picked Garrett Klotz. After he posted five goals and nine assists in 54 games for the Hawks, Kukkonen went pointless in his first 20 regular season games for his second different NHL team. In May of 2007, Kukkonen signed a two-year contract to stay with the Flyers. The blue liner cost Philly a cap hit of $875,000 for both of the seasons …

Then and Now: Ole-Kristian Tollefsen

By Craig F
Posted on 09/12/2012 at 9:00 am

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 …

Then and Now: Mika Pyorala

By Craig F
Posted on 07/04/2012 at 9:42 am

Mika Pyorala was signed by the Philadelphia Flyers in June of 2009. Even though the Finn never played a game in the NHL, the Flyers believed Pyorala proved himself enough in the SM-liiga and Elitserien to earn a shot in North America. With a cap hit of $500,000 for the 2009-2010 season, Pekka Rinne’s brother-in-law posted pretty decent numbers for the Flyers and the Phantoms. In his 36 games with the Orange and Black, Pyorala had two goals and two assists. His first goal as a Flyer was important, as he potted one in a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on November …

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