Orange & Black / Philadelphia Flyers

Will trade winds blow for Flyers?

COLUMBUS, Ohio _ The Flyers insist they are not having a hangover from last season's remarkable playoff run.

Could have fooled us.

Their power play has been alarmingly bad, and their offense has resembled Ryan Howard in the post-season _ lots of chances, but little productivity.

They are 3-4-1 after Monday's listless 2-1 loss in Columbus, and they have failed to put together any winning streaks in eight games.

If not for Brian Boucher's oustanding goaltending, Monday's loss could have been 5-1.

Afterward, coach Peter Laviolette ripped his team in the media, saying they had no energy and no passion _ and that they played "mindless" hockey.

. The Flyers will try to ride this out for a while, but the hunch here is that if things don't improve by, say, Thanksgiving, major charges are in order.

The team is overloaded with quality centers. Claude Giroux, who is currenly playing out of position at RW to accomodate Jeff Carter, Mike Richards and Danny Briere aren't going anywhere.

So....

If things don't improve, Carter _ who can become a restricted free agent after the season _ could be offered in a trade for a much-needed, high-quality winger. (Thus far, Nik Zherdev has been a disappointment.)

The Flyers don't want to trade Carter, but if the puzzle pieces don't fit....

The Flyers announced on Wednesday that they have signed Jason Akeson and Tyler Brown, both from the OHL, to entry level contracts.

Both players will report to rookie camp this summer.

Akeson, 20, leads the OHL in scoring with 24 goals and 79 assists for 103 points. He posted 80 points in 65 games last season for the Kitchener Rangers – the same program that produced Flyers captain Mike Richards.

Brown, 21, has 54 points in his overage season with the Plymouth Whalers, good for third on the team. Brown has 47 goals and 73 assists in 212 regular season OHL games over four seasons in Plymouth.

"Филадельфия" подписала контракт новичка с форвардом Тайем Макгинном, информирует TSN. Он был выбран "Флайерз" на драфте 2010 года в четвертом раунде под общим 119-м номером. Ранее Макгинн выступал за "Гатино Олимпик", за который провел 140 матчей и набрал 156 (66+90) очков.

Защитник «Филадельфии» Крис Пронгер рассказал, как идет восстановление после операции.

«Мне понадобится еще три или четыре недели, чтобы приступить к тренировкам с командой. Сейчас я хожу по беговой дорожке, катаюсь на велосипеде. Доктор хотел, чтобы я 3 месяца ничего не делал, это позволит зарасти шрамам на спине.

Хочу поскорее вернуться к тренировкам, буду усердно трудиться, чтобы восстановить былые кондиции. Еще рано говорить, попаду ли я в тренировочный лагерь. Я потерял много в весе из-за этой операции, поэтому нужно будет приложить много усилий, чтобы работать наравне с партнерами», – цитирует игрока ESPN.