Adios, Riley: Flyers waive Cote, position themselves for trade

It's going to be a crazy week in the NHL. With the trade deadline approaching on Wednesday and players rushing back to their teams after the Olympics, the NHL is hitting the ground running as it gears up for the playoffs.

The Flyers are certainly a team interested in making a few tweaks to their roster at the deadline. They probably won't do anything major but they would like to add a solid player or two at forward or on the blueline. In anticipation of a move, the Flyers started clearing some cap space yesterday by waiving Danny Syvret. They took one further step today by waiving forward Riley Cote.

Even though Cote is only making 550,000 this season and next, waiving him makes a ton of sense, both for salary purposes and his on-ice play. When added with Syvret's waived salary, the Flyers now have over 1 million dollars of extra money to use against the cap. Plus, it's not like they will lose anything on the ice since Cote hasn't really done anything but fight in the rare times he has actually suited up this season (last game played: December 21). I doubt that any other team will bother to pick him up unless they are really desperate for a fighter that doesn't win very many fights. Cote will likely be in Adirondack for the remainder of the season.

Rumors of who the Flyers might be pursuing at the deadline are already swirling. I've heard the names Raffi Torres and Dan Hamhuis thrown around but we will just have to wait and see what Paul Holmgren has up his sleeve. Neither would be earth-shattering moves but both would add solid depth. If either were acquired, the Flyers would have to ship out even more salary to make it work. Expect another current Flyer player or two to be traded out should the Flyers bring anyone in.

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: the Medal Round

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

So close! After a great run, Team USA came up just short in their quest for a gold medal. The US's loss was the gain of two Flyers, however. Here is a recap of how your Flyers did during the Medal Round:

Medal Round theme: Why did it have to be Crosby?

Gold Medal Game:
Canada 3, USA 2, OT After starting slow, the US clawed their way back into this one, getting a goal from Zach Parise in the final minute of regulation to force overtime. Ryan Miller was stellar in net all game long and only made one bad play; unfortunately, that bad play was in overtime on a shot by Sidney Crosby that won gold for Canada. While the US deserves a ton of credit for overcoming the odds and getting the silver medal, it was nice to see them not be happy with coming in second place after they lost the game. It's important to remember that this US team is really young and they just got a ton of experience on the world stage. If NHL players are going to Russia in 2014, the US has to be considered one of the favorites.

As for the Flyers in the game, both Mike Richards and Chris Pronger did their part to earn the gold. Richards had an assist on the first goal of the game by Jonathan Toews and he really settled into his checking role nicely for Canada. Richards played just under 15 minutes in the game and also had two shots on goal. Despite being largely criticized for his play in the tournament, Pronger put together a nice effort, leading the Canadian team with 23 minutes of ice time. He wasn't always out there when the Canadians needed to shut down the US but he was never on the ice when a goal was scored against him on Sunday. Let's hope Richards and Pronger can take this experience with Canada back to the Flyers and lead them to a championship of their own.

Bronze Medal Game:
Finland 5, Slovakia 3 Kimmo Timonen and the Fins knocked off Slovakia to earn the bronze medal. Timonen continued to be one of the best players on the ice for Finland, notching a team high 26 minutes of ice time and a pair of assists. He was a great player throughout the tournament, whatever the Fins needed him to do, Timonen did it. Hopefully he didn't get too worn down by the big minutes in pressure situations and now he can come back to the Flyers and continue to be his usual consistent self.

That's it for my daily game recaps of how the Flyers did on each day of the Olympics. Look for a complete statistical recap of each Flyer in the Olympics coming tomorrow. After that, this blog will return to its regular Flyers programming with the focus on what the orange and black can do to bring home the Cup.

Flyers activate Parent, waive Syvret

With the Olympics winding down (USA! USA!), the NHL is getting ready to ramp up once again. Teams have already begun practicing and games are starting up again Monday, a little over 24 hours after the Gold Medal Game. Oh, and then there's the trade deadline, which is just 3 days away, on March 3rd. It's going to be a wild few days of roster moves as teams position themselves for a playoff run.

The Flyers made their first post-Olympic roster moves today, activating defenseman Ryan Parent, who has been on injured reserve since December 26th, and waiving defenseman Danny Syvret, who has also been on injured reserve. Syvret was likely just about ready to come back from his injury, but, since the acquisition of Lukas Krajicek, he has been pushed back to the 8th d-man in the organization. Syvret only makes 575,000 and is a serviceable defenseman so I wouldn't be surprised if he was claimed.

The waiving of Syvret could be a move by the Flyers to free up some cap space prior to the trade deadline. While Syvret's salary is small, every bit of money helps when you are a team close to the cap like the Flyers. What the Flyers might pursuing at the deadline is a mystery, however. They seem pretty set with depth at forward and on defense and I doubt they will make a move for a top goaltender. Basically, don't get your hopes up that the Flyers will do anything major in the coming days, what you see might be what you get for the playoffs.

Sources: Eagles to give Vick bonus, then trade him

I've been trying to stay away from the Eagles quarterback rumor mill lately, what with the daily updates about suitors for Donovan McNabb who probably won't even be traded and talk of Kevin Kolb getting a contract extension that never actually happened. The latest rumor about Michael Vick, however, seems to make a lot of sense so I thought it was worth passing along.

According to Geoff Mosher of Delaware Online, sources around the NFL believe the Eagles will give Vick his 1.5 million dollar roster bonus that he is due on March 5th and then they will look to trade him to the highest bidder. The thought is that the Eagles would basically be dropping that investment into Vick with the idea that they can turn him around into a mid-level draft pick. They wouldn't be in any rush to make a trade after they give him his bonus, either, since Vick could be moved at any point before the draft and up to training camp without the Eagles having to pay him anything else.

This plan of action makes a lot of sense for the Eagles, who essentially rented Vick for a season and now are looking to get some value in return as he gets shipped out of town. While the list of teams who might want Vick might not be that long (Rams, Bills, Browns?), all it takes is for one team to look at Vick as a potential short-term solution as a starting quarterback and the Eagles should get the price they are looking for. What the Eagles do from there with McNabb and Kolb is anyone's guess, although I'm still on record believing that the Eagles will stick with McNabb as the starter for at least one last season before the Kevin Kolb era begins.

Flyers at the Olympics: the Semifinals

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

USA! USA! We're on to the medal round! Here is a recap of how your Flyers did during the Semifinals:

Semifinals theme: Bring on the rematch

U.S. 6, Finland 1 Talk about an explosion. The usually defensively sound Fins got hammered right out of the gate by the U.S., who scored 6 goals in the first, including 5 in a 5 minute span. The one Flyer in the game, Kimmo Timonen, didn't play terrible, notching a team-leading 23+ minutes of ice time and finishing with a plus/minus of 0, a remarkable feat considering the score. The Fins will still have a chance to take home a medal on Saturday when the take on Slovakia. As for the U.S., they played about as well as they possibly could as they tuned up for their rematch with the Canadians. They are going to need the offensive roll to continue if they are going to knock off their North American rivals for the second time and take home the gold.

Canada 3, Slovakia 2 This one sure got interesting at the end. Canada seemed to be coasting to a win, leading 3-0 halfway through the 3rd period, when Slovakia started their comeback, scoring a pair goals to make things interesting. Canada managed to just enough to withstand the Slovakia attack and advance to a rematch with the U.S. with gold on the line. As for the two Flyers in the game, both Chris Pronger and Mike Richards had solid games. Pronger had his highest scoring game of the Olympics, picking up 2 assists in 18 minutes on the ice. While Richards didn't score a point, he did have three shots on goal in his 12 minutes of ice time. Canada was fortunate to get past Slovakia, who played a great last 10 minutes of desperation hockey.

Saturday's Bronze Medal Game: Finland (Timonen) vs. Slovakia, 10:00 pm
Sunday's Gold Medal Game: USA vs. Canada (Pronger, Richards), 3:15 pm