Chris Pronger will be missing the Philadelphia Flyers’ training camp and may even have to sit out the opener. His knee injury is not progressing along the lines he would have liked and that could spell trouble for the start of the new season in Philly.

Pronger hurt his knee in April during the first playoff game against the Boston Bruins. Last week, the Flyers reported that Pronger underwent orthoscopic knee surgery to “clean out the knee.” The procedure, happily, showed that there was no more damage to the knee itself.

“With the amount of atrophy it is going to take a lot of hard work to build the leg muscles back up,” said Pronger. “Obviously, I will be spending a lot of hours in the gym trying to strengthen my knee and the rest of my body.”

Philly’s training camp will open on September 17 and the regular season gets underway for the Flyers on October 7 when the team faces off against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

With the Los Angeles Kings recently saying that they won’t be working out a deal for Ilya Kovalchuk, a new possibility for a talented forward looms on the horizon. That’s right, kids, I’m talking about the Flyers’ Simon Gagne.

Gagne has agreed to waive his no-trade clause with the club and, even with no deal imminent according to CSNPhilly.com, there are some possibilities to consider.

For starters, the ridiculous rumours about trades between the Flyers and Kings to make room for Kovalchuk have got to be put out to pasture once and for all. Message boards lit up after someone put words in TSN’s Dan Dreger’s mouth, announcing reportedly that the Kings were going to send Anze Kopitar, winger and captain Dustin Brown, solid defenseman Jack Johnson, and starting goaltender Jonathan Quick to the Flyers for Gagne and Jeff Carter to “make room” for Kovy.

Stop laughing.

Once Dreger was able to tweet his stunned surprise that someone would even assume such a ridiculous trade in the first place, things got down to brass tacks. What did emerge was that Gagne actually has waived his no-trade and that he probably won’t be back in Philly when the new season gets underway.

And the Kings do deserve to be thought of as in the mix, especially with the news that they won’t be able to give Kovalchuk what he wants. So Gagne becomes a nice fit in Los Angeles.

But with a year left on his contract, there’s plenty of time for a deal to be made if that’s to be in the cards. You have to think that the Flyers could really go either way here. On the one hand, Gagne’s concussion history and groin injuries don’t bode well and his cap hit of $5.25 million could certainly factor in to making him an attractive player to move.

On the other hand, besides Mike Richards, Simon Gagne could be considered the “face of the franchise” in Philadelphia and his loss would be a big one for fans. As one of the last remaining fixtures of the popular Lindros era, it’s tough to imagine the club without him.

Stranger things have happened, however, and anything’s possible in the wheeling and dealing of the NHL’s hot summer. The only certainty at this point is that Gagne’s waived his no-trade clause. Everything else is speculation, sure, but speculation can be a whole lot of fun.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

According to CSNPhilly.com, former San Jose Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov could be sporting a Flyers jersey soon. CSNPhilly.com is reporting that the Flyers have reached a verbal agreement for the signing rights to Nabokov, sending the Sharks a seventh round pick in the 2011 draft if they can sign the goaltender prior to July 1.

Nabokov is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

According to TSN, Nabokov has told the Flyers that he would rather test the market first and head into free agency on July 1. It’s possible, too, that he’ll have more than his fair share of KHL options.

Sharks GM Doug Wilson wouldn’t confirm any deal to sign Nabokov, but he did tell CSNPhilly.com that there were a few issues around the negotiating process that could take some time to sort out.

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren was similarly quiet about the issue, stating only that Nabokov was a “good goalie” before adding that he thought the Russian would test free agency waters on July 1.

So even with the rumblings of the former Sharks goalie heading to Philly, it’s hard to nail down anything concrete. It seems that there is a conditional handshake deal and that the Flyers might be looking to sign him seriously, but the ultimate location of Nabokov’s 2010-2011 season is far from determined.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Now that the dust has settled on this year’s Stanley Cup Finals and the 2009-2010 season has officially ended, the two combatants for the highest prize in the sport have a lot of work to do before the next season gets underway.

Before training camps crank open their doors in the fall, the Blackhawks and Flyers will have a lot of roster changes to undergo. Commish Gary Bettman has stated that the salary cap will “increase slightly” for the start of the 2010-2011 NHL season. The current cap is $56.8 million.

Looking at the roster for the Blackhawks, they currently sit with 14 under contract players for a combined payroll of $57.6 million. The Flyers have 16 players under contract for next season adding up to a total of $48.6 million.

These numbers become more meaningful when one considers what’s to be done about them. The Flyers have a lot more roster holes to fill, potentially, and will have to figure out a goaltending situation in Philly if they intend to repeat their successes of the past year. Riding the wave of momentum is a short-term prospect, in my opinion.

The Blackhawks have a more complete roster and do have more options. They can start by ditching the $5.625 million cost of goalie Cristobal Huet, for instance, by dumping him down to the minor leagues. They’ll have to deal some of their key players, almost immediately, to fit in any more of their roster before training camp. Word around the campfire is that Kris Versteeg will be one of the key guys to go on the move.

The Blackhawks have a few key unrestricted free agents, too, including John Madden, Adam Burish, Nick Boynton, and Kim Johnsson. RFAs include Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jordan Hendry, and goalie Antti Niemi. The Hawks will want to sign a considerable group of these players, making the cap situation all the more urgent.

The Flyers, meanwhile, also have a few key UFAs. Consider the fact that Ray Emery, Lukas Krajicek, Arron Asham, and Michael Leighton are all UFAs and you’ve got some decisions to make if you’re in charge of the club. RFAs for Philly include Braydon Coburn, Daniel Carcillo, Ryan Parent, and Darrell Powe.

Chicago has a few difficult spots on their roster that may be hard to dump off on anyone save for Glen Sather. Looking at Huet’s contract is tough, considering the whopping salary he’s getting for being a glorified backup goalie. As he’s playing currently, Huet would be tough to peg as a starter on any NHL team and nobody will pay that kind of bank for a backup.

Brian Campbell’s a difficult guy to move, too, and his $7,142,875 is the top salary on the club in the Windy City. Finishing 29th in defensive scoring and still rating one of the biggest salaries for his position in the NHL, Campbell’s in tough for Chicago management and will probably remain a Blackhawk for the season.

The Flyers’ first order of business will be to figure out what to do with Leighton, I think. I’m not sure that Ray Emery has much of a chance at remaining with the club or any club, even with a pretty hot start, and I’m sure he’s out of the picture. Boucher will play backup again, most likely, leaving the top spot wide open to possibilities. It’s the most pressing question in Philly right now.

So how will this play out over the summer months? It’s anybody’s guess, of course. We’ll be following all the action right here, so make sure you’ve bookmarked us for the best in hockey news and analysis. And keep your eyes fixed here for more cool prizes, too.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

The Chicago Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup.

The game-winning goal came in overtime and wasn’t greeted by a red light or significant fanfare, but the image of Patrick Kane celebrating and tossing off his equipment was good enough for the young Blackhawks club.

The goal was briefly reviewed and then it was official: the Blackhawks had defeated the Philadelphia Flyers and won the Cup. While the crowd stood stunned and many of the Flyers stood around confused, the Blackhawks team piled on each other in celebration around goalie Antti Niemi. It turned out that the puck was actually lodged in the net where Kane put it when he scored the history-making winner.

The Cup win for the Blackhawks ends the longest drought in NHL history, as Chicago hasn’t won the top prize since 1961. An Original Six franchise, the Blackhawks wrap up their most successful season since the days of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita.

Jonathan Toews picked up the Conn Smythe Trophy much to the chagrin of the Philly faithful, who commenced with the traditional booing of Gary Bettman and let it ride through the presentation to Toews. Even so, the 22-year-old deserved his moment and goes down as a member of the Triple Gold Club with a gold medal at the IIHF World’s in 2007, an Olympic gold medal in Vancouver in 2010, and now a Cup victory. He’s the seventh Canadian in the Club.

The game was close throughout and it often looked as though the Flyers were carrying the momentum, turning in a tight physical performance that had the young Blackhawks on their heels frequently. In the end, though, it was not to be and the Hawks took the series in six games.

Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers on a great Finals.

Just a reminder to all of our readers that the action doesn’t slow down in the summertime here at HockeyDraft.Ca. We’ll have the scoops you’re looking for as the off-season gets underway. Stick around for news and commentary on the draft, off-season moves, the situation in Phoenix, and all the other developing stories.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

With Chris Pronger off his game, the Chicago Blackhawks were able to finally come out to play in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

It wasn’t apparent as to what was bothering Pronger, but his coverage on Chicago’s key players just wasn’t up to par like it was in the series’ first four contests. The surly defender was a minus-5 in the Blackhawks’ 7-4 victory and found himself on the ice for six of his opponents’ goals. Pronger was in the sin bin for the other one.

It looked like Chicago coach Joel Quenneville’s decision to split up his big guns paid off, too. Six different Blackhawks popped in goals in the game and Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Dustin Byfuglien remained too much for Pronger to neutralize on his own. With more space and time, big Byfuglien was able to net two goals. Kane had one and an assist.

In any event, it looks as though the Blackhawks are back on track. They even managed to get under the skin of the Flyers a little, showing some of that antagonism that they were able to brew up against San Jose and Vancouver.

Flyers’ keeper Michael Leighton was pulled for the second time in the series and Brian Boucher took over the job. In allowing three goals in 13 shots, Leighton has to be at least a bit of a question mark for Flyers fans. He did take a puck off the knee in the pre-game skate, however, and that may have contributed to his less-than-stellar performance.

With the Blackhawks clicking for the first time in the series, the Flyers will have to hope that their 9-1 home record in these playoffs holds up the standard as things swing back to Philly.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

The Philadelphia Flyers potted three first period goals and looked like they were going to rout the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night, but the young Hawks mounted a bit of a comeback to pull the game close. Still, the Flyers pulled off a 5-3 victory and evened the series.

Mike Richards, Matt Carle, and series hero Claude Giroux all had goals in the first frame and Villie Leino added another one as the Flyers headed into the final period with a 4-1 lead. It took a late surge from the Blackhawks to get close, though, as Dave Bolland and Brian Campbell cut the deficit to just one goal.

After Jeff Carter popped in an empty netter, however, it was all over and the Blackhawks watched their series lead disappear before a rowdy Philly crowd.

So far the home team has won all four games in the series and, if that holds, the situation still favours the boys from Chicago. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, their top players have been rendered all but useless thanks to tight checking and some mind games from the Philly defence. Led by Chris Pronger, the Flyers’ defenders have been containing and controlling Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane like no other team’s been able to do this post-season.

The series has been filled with goals aplenty thus far, but the big guns have been mostly left out of the race. Richards didn’t score until Friday night, for instance, and the Blackhawks have been working hard to contain Philly’s other vital players.

It’s hard to say that either team has momentum going into Chicago on Sunday. With the Flyers and Blackhawks trading goals like this, the series has been more about the last team to score than it has the first to get and hold a lead. The goaltenders, Michael Leighton and Antti Niemi, appear almost out of gas going into these games.

In any event, it truly is anyone’s series now. As things swing back to Chicago for Sunday’s contest, both the Flyers and Blackhawks are hoping for a little of that playoff magic.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

It was Claude Giroux who managed to give the Flyers some life on Wednesday night. Scoring 5:59 into overtime, Giroux gave the Flyers their first win in the series and narrowed the gap as his team moves towards the Stanley Cup.

The 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks came in front of a roaring crowd filled with Philly fans and cut the Blackhawks’ series lead to 2-1. Analysts everywhere were quick to point out that we “finally had a series,” but this has been a barnburner from day one.

The Flyers have been this post-season’s quintessential rally team, after all, and I know from my own lost bets and missed predictions that this isn’t a team to count out at any time. They fought back to defeat the Bruins, for instance, making history when they were down 3-0 in the series. So a 2-0 deficit going into Wednesday’s contest at home? Not a problem.

Philadelphia’s win also ended a critical Blackhawks winning streak, ending the team’s seven game winning streak and the team’s seven game road winning streak. The Flyers did more than win the game; they proved that their opponents were human.

Chicago goalie Antti Niemi stopped 28 shots in the contest, but Michael Leighton came out on the winning end with a convincing performance of his own. He’s proved that the coaching staff was right to stand by him and he’s got to have a lot of confidence rolling into Game 4.

As for the Blackhawks, they’re a young team and they’ll need to keep their confidence going after this loss. It wasn’t a huge loss, of course, but it was a loss and it does draw the series closer than Chicago would have liked.

“Right now it looks like they have the momentum in the series,” said Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane. “But if we take Game 4, then we put ourselves in a great position to go back and play in front of our home crowd and hopefully win it there.”

Even with the win and considerable momentum, word around the campfire is that most so-called experts remain firmly fixed in the Blackhawks camp. Rallying cries of “Chicago in 5″ fill most hockey message boards and many have already written off the Flyers, but the team from Philly is making one hell of a convincing case for themselves.

It’s hard (and foolish) to write the Flyers off at this point. And if my past mistakes have taught me anything, it’s that this series is far from over.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

His Flyers may be down by two games in their Stanley Cup Final series against the Chicago Blackhawks, but that hasn’t stopped Chris Pronger from playing some serious head games.

Pronger has twice taken the game puck after the final horn sounded. In both games, he skated down towards where the Blackhawks were celebrating and snagged it. In Game 2, Pronger was confronted by Chicago’s Ben Eager.

“He’s been picking up pucks after the game, and I just told him he can keep it,” Eager said.

Pronger shot a towel at Eager too, but remained his usual self in the media scrum after the game when reporters asked him about it.

“I don’t know, did I?,” he said. “Wow. You’re intuitive. Good for you. Next.”

Pronger’s sarcastic responses to the press have been pretty commonplace, especially through these Finals. After being asked about what Eager said to him, Pronger replied that he didn’t “speak that language” and went on to explain that he had thrown the pucks in the garbage.

“I guess little things amuse little minds,” he added.

Whether Pronger’s mind games and attitude will have an impact remains to be seen, of course. One has to wonder about his antics and if they’ll amount to little more than a distraction for his own team and, probably more likely, himself.

Still, it’s hard to argue with his performance thus far. Pronger’s been logging monstrous amounts of ice time, for starters, and has done relatively well at containing the Blackhawks’ key forwards in Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

Pronger has had to be the team’s emotional leader throughout these playoffs and he’s been doing well in the role that he knows well. He’s far from resigned to defeat and fully believes in his teammates, never hiding from the toughness of the task at hand but never succumbing to the pressure to be negative.

“Yeah, I think we need to play with more desperation than we did, like the third period,” Pronger said. “We need to play with that passion, energy, drive, determination, like we did in the third through the whole game. It needs to be 60 minutes.”

There’s no word yet on whether Pronger has designed on picking up the game puck from the next contest, but you can bet he’ll be ready with more attitude and more ferocity when it comes to facing his opponents. With a team taking its cues from him, he’ll have to give it everything he’s got. To use an awful cliche that Pronger would doubtlessly give me hell for: game 3 is a must-win.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

It was Marian Hossa that seemed to spark his team’s scoring touch on Monday night, as his goal in the second period spurred Ben Eager to score just 28 seconds later.

The game itself was tighter and more physical than the series’ first game, of course. The Blackhawks’ eventual 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers gave them a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final and put them in good position as the series swings to Philly, but it was by no means a decisive win. The Flyers played a solid road game overall and looked good throughout the contest, despite falling apart during a few critical moments.

For Hossa’s part, he was just happy to put the puck in the net for a change. He finally scored after eight games without a goal and was glad to have the monkey off his back.

“It bugged me definitely that the goals were not going in for me,” said Hossa. “I was trying to create offence, either passing, but when I’m shooting the puck it didn’t want to get in. I tried not to get frustrated, but it’s in your head, you know. I was waiting for a garbage goal and hopefully now our line keeps going offensively better and better.”

Chicago was also able to hang on to a terrific performance from goalie Antti Niemi, too. He made 32 saves in the game and the crowd was chanting his name after the game. The Flyers were able to crack him once.

The series is far from over, however, and it would certainly be unwise for the Blackhawks to start planning the parade. Hossa knows this all too well, of course. He’s been in this situation before, with his former Detroit Red Wings being up two games over the Pittsburgh Penguins only to lose four of the following five games to watch the Pens march on to the Cup victory.

The Flyers made a few changes in the game, moving Dan Carcillo back into the lineup to stir some things up. His presence seemed to do the trick and the game took on a more physical tone, with plenty of chirping after whistles and a lot of scrums. Chris Pronger also had a solid game for the Flyers and his battle with big Dustin Byfuglien continued to rage on.

Still, the physicality wasn’t enough for the Flyers to come away with the victory and they’ll need to make use of their raucous home crowd when the series swings into Philadelphia. The sea of orange will be in full swing and the Flyers will be ready to feed off of that energy. It will be the most important game of the year for both teams, without question.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.