Flyers place Gagne on Injured Reserve, attempt to bring back Randy Jones

I guess we couldn't ask for more than one season of health for Simon Gagne. Gagne, who played 79 games last year after playing only 25 in 07/08, has two hernias on his right groin and will need surgery. Anticipating that he will be out for an extended period of time, the Flyers have placed Gagne on the Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR), meaning he will miss at least the next 10 games. This move frees up 5.25 million dollars for the Flyers in cap money.

Since they have the extra cap space, the Flyers decided to bring back defenseman Randy Jones, placing him on re-entry waivers. If Jones is claimed by another team, the Flyers would be responsible for half of his 2.75 million dollar salary. If Jones goes unclaimed, the Flyers will have plenty of salary cap space to keep him around, and one would assume he would get plenty of ice time. The reason Jones got sent down in the first place was never about his ability, it was all about his salary. Jones is certainly capable of playing better than Danny Syvret and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, two players that beat him out for roster spots since they were cheaper.

The more worrisome news here is that Gagne is out for an extended period of time. While the Flyers do have plenty of depth at forward, losing a top line player is never going to help your team. The only good news is that Blair Betts is set to return to the ice in the coming days so the Flyers won't need to make any moves for another forward.

The Flyers have lacked consistency all year long and if the injuries start to pile up it's only going to get worse. That hot seat John Stevens is sitting on is only going to get hotter.