Flyers claim Boynton, demote JVR for a day

Not wasting any time finding a replacement for the injured Oskars Bartulis, the Flyers acquired their new 7th defenseman, claiming Nick Boynton off waivers from the Blackhawks. Boynton, an 11 year NHL veteran, is a physical d-man who doesn't contribute anything offensively but can be pretty reliable in his own end. The former Bruin, Coyote, Panther and Duck as well as Blackhawk has a cap hit of $500,000 and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

The need for an extra body like Boynton came up because of Chris Pronger's hand injury. With Pronger possibly going to miss a game or two, the Flyers need someone they can rely on to play a few shifts. While rookie d-man Erik Gustafsson was called up for that role, Gustafsson needs to get ice time in the minors and would not be an option to sit in the press box as a 7th d-man when everyone is healthy. Enter Boynton, who has gotten pretty familiar sitting in the press box with the Blackhawks in the recent weeks.

To make room for Boynton on the roster, the Flyers had to make an interesting, though necessary, move. Not wanting to risk losing anyone to waivers, the Flyers have temporarily sent James van Riemsdyk to the minors. Since JVR has a contract that allows him to go down and come back up without any waiver issues, the Flyers are sending him down just for tonight's game so Gustafsson can play against Ottawa. After tonight's game, the Flyers will then re-call JVR and send Gustafsson back to the AHL. The most surprising revelation from all of these moves is that recently waived Nikolay Zherdev will likely get to suit up tonight against Ottawa. Talk about a strange turn of events for Zherdev.

While that's a somewhat complicated movement of pieces, the Flyers are making the necessary moves to keep their roster intact. Sure, they could have sent Zherdev to the minors but then they would have risked losing him in the re-entry waivers should they want to call him back up. Getting Boynton isn't a big move for the Flyers but it was a smart move to get some dependable defensive depth. If everything goes to plan, we won't even see Boynton in the lineup come playoff time but he will be a nice insurance policy.

Scottie Upshall is a fan favorite no more

Despite being traded out of town nearly two years ago, Scottie Upshall has remained a crowd favorite in Philadelphia. Perhaps it was his role in helping the Flyers make a deep playoff run in 2008 or perhaps it was the way he was shown the door in a questionable trade for Dan Carcillo, but Upshall has been someone Flyers fans have always wished they had back.

Upshall undid all of that in his first game back in Philly when he laid the following questionable hit on Oskars Bartulis:

With one hit, Upshall became public enemy number one by Flyers fans as he was booed every time he touched the puck. He can forget about the welcome mat being laid out for him next time he comes to Philly.

As for Bartulis, the early word is that he has a shoulder injury and that we'll know more later. With Sean O'Donnell already out, look for the Flyers to hit the trade market looking for defensive depth should Bartulis miss any time.

UPDATE: Upshall was suspended two games by the league for this hit. Justice served.

Flyers at the Olympics: the Wrap-up

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Well, if that wasn't enough to convince the NHL to let its players go back to the Olympics in 2014, then I don't know what would. With the best players playing in huge games in front of millions of fans, it's impossible to call it anything but a success. Time will tell if it leads to higher ratings in the NHL but at the very least the Olympics have to be looked at as something for players and fans to salivate for every 4 years.

As Philadelphia fans, we should be very proud of how the Flyers fared in the Olympics. The Flyers sent 4 representatives to Vancouver and 3 went home with medals, including 2 with gold. Every one of the Flyers at the Olympics was a key contributor for their club, whether it was matching up against the opponents top lines (Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Oskars Bartulis), putting in work on the penalty kill (Mike Richards, Timonen) or just logging a ton of ice time (Timonen, Bartulis). While it kills me that Sidney Crosby of the Penguins will be looked at as the hero of the Olympics, we can be proud that our Flyers had a huge impact in some of the biggest hockey games of the decade.

Here is the statistical breakdown of the four Flyers who played in the 2010 Olympics:
Now let's get back to the regular season games. The Flyers take on the Lightning on Tuesday, and as much fun as the Olympics were, I can't wait to see the orange and black back on the ice once again.

Flyers at the Olympics: Day Seven

REUTERS/Shaun Best

The Olympic Tournament is under way! Here is a recap of how the Flyers did on Day 7 of the Olympic Games:

Day 7 theme: Canadians beat up the little guys

Switzerland 3, Belarus 2, SO No Flyers in the first elimination game but it was still a pretty entertaining contest between two evenly matched teams. You knew the Swiss would win once the game went into a shootout because Jonas Hiller is that much better than anything Belarus can throw out there. Up next for the Swiss? Another loss to the US in the quarterfinals.

Canada 8, Germany 2 After scoring only 1 goal in the first period and probably making their entire country nervous, the Canadians exploded in the final two periods against the Germans and cruised into their quaterfinal match with the Russians. Despite being moved off the Sidney Crosby line (as if he's upset by that), Mike Richards had a goal and an assist in just over 10 minutes of ice time. Chris Pronger also had an assist on a Rick Nash goal. The Canadians looked strong but I didn't expect anything less from them against poor Germany.

Czech Republic 3, Latvia 2, OT The first Flyer has been eliminated: Oskars Bartulis of Latvia. Despite making a valiant effort to come back from a 2-0 deficit and forcing overtime, Latvia fell to the Czech Republic after David Krejci scored the game winner. Bartulis played 22 minutes and once again failed to score a point. While he didn't register even a single assist for Latvia throughout the Olympics, Bartulis played a ton of minutes as part on the top defensive pairing and did as well as you could expect. Next up for the Czechs will be Finland.

Slovakia 4, Norway 3 Norway gave them a bit of a scare in the late game but Slovakia hangs on and moves on to face Sweden tomorrow. Former Flyer Michal Handzus had a goal for Slovakia.

Wednesday's Quarterfinal games: USA vs. Switzerland, 3:00 pm; Russia vs. Canada (Chris Pronger, Mike Richards), 7:30 pm; Czech Republic vs. Finland (Timonen), 10:00 pm; Sweden vs. Slovakia, 12:00 am.

Flyers at the Olympics: Day Five

(CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP/Getty Images)

Day five saw the best performance to date of any Flyer at the Olympics:

Day 5 theme: Kimmo!

Late Friday:
Finland 5, Germany 0 Finally, a Flyer leads his team to victory! Kimmo Timonen notched a pair of powerplay goals as the Fins rolled past the Germans. Timonen deftly ran the point on the Fin powerplay, keeping the puck moving and even firing it on net from deep for one of his goals. His play helped the Fins score 4 times with the man advantage to coast past the usually solid German defense. Former Flyer Joni Pitkanen also had a power play goal for Finland.

Saturday:
Switzerland 5, Norway 4 The Swiss squeaked out their first win of the tournament over the Norwegians when they scored a goal in overtime. After the effort the Swiss showed against the Canadians, this game had to be a letdown for them. Former Flyer Patrick Thoreson (Yep, he's the guy that took that shot to the groin) had three assists for Norway. Both of these countries will need miracles to advance to the semifinals of the tournament.

Slovakia 6, Latvia 0 Oskars Bartulis and the Latvians appear to be the worst team at the Olympics as they have now been outscored 19-4 in their three losses. Miraculously for Bartulis, he had a plus/minus of 0 despite getting 21 minutes of icetime in this blowout. The Latvians need the second coming of Arturs Irbe if they want to compete at the Olympics.

Games tomorrow (2/21): Germany vs. Belarus, 12 am; Russia vs. Czech Republic, 3 pm; Canada (Richards, Pronger) vs. US, 7:30 pm; Sweden vs. Finland (Timonen), 12 am. Now that's a good slate of games.

Flyers at the Olympics: Day Four

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Day four of Olympic hockey is in the books. Here is your recap:

Day 4 theme: Finally, an upset!

Late Thursday: Slovakia 2, Russia 1, SO The Slovaks pulled off the first upset of the tournament after they capped an exciting day of hockey by beating Russia in a shootout. Jaroslav Halak was the MVP in this one, stopping 36 shots and holding the Russian attack at bay. The two ex-Flyers playing for Slovakia, Michal Handzus and Branko Radivojevic, did nothing of note.

Friday:
Sweden 4, Belarus 2 Belarus hung tough and made the defending Olympic champs fight to earn the win. There were no current Flyers playing in this one and only one former Flyer, Peter Forsberg, who still hasn't registered a point in the Olympics.

Czech Republic 5, Latvia 2 Oskars Bartulis and the Latvians came up short yet again against a superior opponent. The Czech's got 3 quick goals in the first period and the game looked like it was going to be a blowout but Latvia hunkered down and played better from there. Despite committing a ton of penalties, the Latvians were just a bounce away from making things interesting in the third. As for Bartulis, he logged over 20 minutes of ice time and did plenty of penalty killing against the top Czech forwards. He's being asked to play way over his head for the Latvians and hasn't done anything to embarrass himself.

Games tomorrow (2/20): Finland (Timonen) vs. Germany, 12 am; Norway vs. Switzerland, 3 pm; Latvia vs. Slovakia, 7:30 pm; Germany vs. Belarus, 12 am. Look for my recap of Timonen from Friday's late game tomorrow.

Flyers at the Olympics: Day Two

(LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images)

Day 2 is in the books so here is your daily recap of how Flyers players are doing at the 2010 Olympics:

The theme for Day 2: Favorites still rule

Late Tuesday:
Russia 8, Lativa 2 As expected, the Russians rolled over the Latvians, who feature Oskars Bartulis as their top defenseman. Given Bartulis had the task of shutting down some serious Russian firepower, he did about as well as could be expected. Bartulis did have a cross-checking penalty in the first period of the game but it didn't lead to a PP goal. Russia looks mighty dangerous.

Wednesday:
Finland 5, Belarus 1 The only Flyer in this game was Kimmo Timonen of Finland. Timonen didn't notch any points in this one but he did log plenty of ice time and helped to shut down the Belarus offense. Former Flyers Lasse Kukkonen and Joni Pitkanen each had assists for Finland. Anyone else find it interesting that the Finn defense features three players who have suited up for the Flyers? Not sure if that is a good or bad thing for Finland's medal hopes.

Sweden 2, Germany 0 This game was closer than expected as the Germans played their usual lockdown defense and the Swedes failed to really get into any kind of flow offensively. Former Flyer Dennis Seidenberg racked up a ton of PK time with Germany and is their best defender. Of note for Sweden was the fact that Peter Forsberg survived the game with both feet intact.

Games tomorrow (2/18): Czech Republic vs. Slovakia, 12 am; USA vs. Norway, 3pm; Switzerland vs. Canada (Pronger, Richards), 7:30 pm; Slovakia vs. Russia, 12 am.

Your guide to the Flyers at the Olympics

We've officially hit a lull in Philly sports action. The Eagles have long been eliminated, the Phillies are just getting under way, the Sixers are more interested in trading for next year and the Flyers are off for two weeks for the Winter Olympic break. Fortunately, just because the Flyers aren't playing any games as a team, there are still a few individuals headed to Vancouver to represent their countries.

While Jeff Carter just missed being added to Canada's roster today and Matt Carle arguably should be on the U.S. roster, there will be four current Flyers playing in the Olympics this year. Here's what to expect from them:

Oskars Bartulis, D, Latvia: Will be top defender on a weak team
Chris Pronger, D, Canada: Could be on top D pairing for Gold favorite
Mike Richards, C, Canada: Expect more of a checking/PK role
Kimmo Timonen, D, Finland: Should get plenty of ice time

If you are feeling a little more nostalgic, there are also ten former Flyers at the Olympics:

Peter Forsberg, C (Sweden)
Michal Handzus, C (Slovakia)
Lasse Kukkonen, D (Finland)
Antero Niitymaki, G (Finland)
Joni Pitkanen, D (Finland)
Branko Radivojevic, W (Slovakia)
Luca Sbisa, D (Switzerland)
Dennis Seidenberg, D (Germany)
Patrick Thoreson, W (Norway)
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, D (Norway)

While all indications are that it's Canada's Gold to lose, there should be some entertaining games along the way, especially the Canada/U.S. and Canada/Russia tilts. As for who you should root for in the Olympics, that's your call. Despite not having any Flyers on the roster, I'll certainly be rooting for the U.S. but I'll have my eye on how the Philly guys are doing. As long as the U.S. has a decent showing (Top 4) and none of the Flyers get hurt, I will consider the Olympics a success.

It all kicks off tomorrow at 3 pm when the U.S. takes on Switzerland and it ends on Sunday, February 28th in the Gold Medal game. Click here for the complete Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Schedule.

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.

Five Flyers to take part in 2010 Olympics, none for Team USA

Following the Winter Classic, USA Hockey announced the players that will represent the United States in the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver. Unfortunately, no Flyers were selected to play for Team USA. After their hot starts this season, both James van Riemsdyk and Matt Carle were believed to be in the running for a spot but both came up short. Goaltender Brian Boucher is the only other American on the Flyers roster and his injuries this season likely eliminated whatever slim chance he had of making the team.

There have been five Flyers selected by their respective countries to play in the Olympics in February, four of them defensemen:

Oskars Bartulis, D (Latvia)
Chris Pronger, D (Canada)
Mike Richards, C (Canada)
Kimmo Timonen, D (Finland)
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, D (Norway)

Jeff Carter was also chosen as an alternate for Canada.