Flyers sign D-man Lukas Krajicek

The Flyers may have finally found that NHL-caliber depth defenseman they were looking for. After injuries to Ryan Parent and Danny Syvret, the Flyers were left with a third defensive pairing of the slumping Oskars Bartulis and the ineffective Ole-Kristian Tollefsen. Clearly knowing that the pair wasn't good enough on a team with playoff aspirations, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren had desperately been searching for defensive help via a trade. Finding the asking price too high in a market where everyone is looking for a d-man, Holmgren went a different route and has signed recently waived former Ligthning defenseman Lukas Krajicek for the remainder of the season.

Krajicek, who was a former first round pick back in 2001, passed through waivers and was released by the Lightning and now figures to be a solid 6th or 7th defenseman with the Flyers. At 6 foot 3 and 205 pounds, he's not a big d-man but he will stay at home and protect the net. With only 70 career points in 301 NHL games with the Panthers, Canucks and Lightning, Krajicek isn't going to be an offensive threat. While he hasn't proven to be worth the first round pick the Panthers used on him 9 years ago, Krajicek is only 26 and can still be a solid contributor in the back end.

To make room for Krajicek, the Flyers sent forward Mika Pyorala to the minors. Pyorala will get the ice time he wasn't getting in the NHL with Adirondack.

The bottom line with this deal was the Flyers found a slight upgrade on defense for a cheap price. Since Krajicek was released by Tampa Bay, it's likely the Flyers signed him to something close to the league minimum, giving the Flyers a limited cap hit for some defensive depth. Given how Bartulis and Tollefsen have played recently, Krajicek has an opportunity to work his way into some decent ice time. What happens if/when Parent and Syvret come back is another story, but Krajicek certainly has a chance to stick as the 7th d-man come playoff time. If the Flyers make the playoffs.

Flyers finalize roster: JVR makes it but no Betts yet

With NHL rosters due at 3 pm today, the Flyers made their final moves to get their roster ready for Friday's opening game. An NHL team is able to keep 23 players on their roster so the Flyers had to shift a couple of players around to fit everyone in.

As expected, rookie phenom James van Riemsdyk made the team after a strong preseason showing where he basically forced himself onto the roster. Also making the team after looking solid this preseason was forward Mika Pyorala.

Not making the team, yet, was Blair Betts. Betts was brought in on a tryout basis and needs a contract to play for the Flyers. The Flyers are believed to be in negotiations with Betts at the moment but no agreement has been reached as of yet. Betts would make a great 4th line center who can win faceoffs and kill penalties so hopefully the Flyers reach a deal with him soon.

With the Flyers keeping JVR, Pyorala and hopefully Betts, they could have 14 forwards. Since teams only suit up 12 forwards a game, that means 2 players from an incredibly deep group will have to sit out every night. The likely scratches would be 2 from the following group: Pyorala, Darroll Powe, Riley Cote and Arron Asham. Having this many quality forwards means the Flyers can mix and match depending on their opponents strengths and weaknesses.

If the Flyers do sign Blair Betts in the next few days they would have to place hobbled goaltender Brian Boucher on the injured list. As of right now, Boucher stays on the roster although he won't be able to play for another week or so. Johan Backlund will temporarily be on the roster as the backup until Boucher is healthy enough to go.

The team also sent recently waived Randy Jones to the Phantoms, ensuring defensemen Danny Syvret and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen of roster spots. Syvret will likely be the 6th defenseman and Tollefsen will be a healthy scratch on most nights.

Here is the Flyers roster for the beginning of the season:

Forwards (13): Danny Briere, Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter, Scott Hartnell, Daniel Carcillo, Claude Giroux, Arron Asham, Riley Cote, Darroll Powe, Ian Laperriere, Mika Pyorala, Blair Betts, James van Riemsdyk

Defensemen (7): Chris Pronger, Braydon Coburn, Kimmo Timonen, Ryan Parent, Matt Carle, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, Danny Syvret

Goalies (3): Ray Emery, Johan Backlund, Brian Boucher

Flyers sign Finnish Forward Mika Pyorala

Being up against the cap means the Flyers can't afford to sign players we've actually heard of, or players that actually played in the NHL last season. In their quest to find cheap talent, the Flyers signed Mika Pyorala, a forward who spent the last two seasons in the Swedish Elite League, where he averaged 19 goals and 19 assists. Pyorala, 28, is Finnish and has spent some time on the Finnish National team.

Pyorala is described as a two-way player and could be the Flyers 4th line center. As of now, terms of the deal haven't been announced, but you can bet it's a one or two year deal worth around 1 million dollars a season. Having never seen the guy play, I can't say if this is a good signing or not.

Barring a trade, the Flyers are likely done signing players since they are right up against the cap.

Pyorala is scoring a game-winner in this clip: