Metropolit, Vaananen out; Briere in for the Flyers

A star Flyers player is set to return to the ice but it will be at the expense of a pair of veteran players.

Danny Briere is set to make his return to the ice on Friday, meaning the Flyers have to clear some space. Briere makes 6.5 million and adding him to the active roster will put the Flyers over the salary cap. To make room, the team has waived Glen Metropolit and Ossi Vaananen and are also expected to waive Lasse Kukkonen. The Flyers may also send Darroll Powe to the minors to make even more space.

While Metro and Vaananen were both waived, that doesn't mean they won't be Flyers anymore. Guys get waived all the time in the NHL and they still stay with their teams. I think Kukkonen has been waived at least half a dozen times by the Flyers at this point. Metro and Vaananen can still clear waivers and be sent down to the minors, a move that takes their salary off the NHL books.

Metropolit has been a solid player for the Flyers this season, doing everything you would want a checking center to do. The Flyers hand has been forced as they try to get under the cap, but I think they will still do whatever they can to keep Metro around. Ossi Vaananen is another story. Once Ryan Parent returned, Vaananen has found it nearly impossible to get on the ice unless another defenseman is sick or injured. He makes a solid 7th defenseman but the Flyers wouldn't shed a tear if he was gone.

The most important thing about these moves is the fact that Danny Briere is returning to the Flyers. The team has already been on a roll as of late, adding a top line forward like Briere to the mix can only make them better. It will be interesting to see how the lines shape up with Briere back, could John Stevens re-unite the Simon Gagne/Mike Richards/Briere line from earlier in the season? What a line that could be!