Laliberte (pronounced: La-lib-er-tay; not la-li-bert-ay; think “LIBERTY”) has the perfect last name for the city claiming to be the birthplace of freedom. In fact, based even just on Philadelphia’s history, his name is a journalist’s dream.
Examples:
- The Liberty Bell
- “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” -Gettysburg Address
- “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…” -Declaration of Independence
Even the Pledge of Allegiance closes out with, “with liberty and justice for all.” This is also excluding the countless other attractions in Philadelphia that boast the name “liberty.” Now the Flyers have their own little infusion of “la-liberté,” and he’s scoring goals!
He did not necessarily come out of nowhere, but in this week and a half devoted solely to the Phillies trying to repeat as World Champions of Baseball, he probably fooled quite a few people.
Thanks to injuries to Simon Gagne and Danny Briere (more on them later), this former 4th round selection from over five years ago has gotten a chance to make a serious impact during his NHL debut. He isn’t going to win rookie-of-the-year honors or score 50 points this season, but he is a testament to the underrated depth of the Flyers’ prospect pool.
So far he has just been the only player since Eric Lindros to score goals in his first two NHL games. I’m not trying to imply anything obviously, but that’s pretty good company.
2009-10 Flyers Points Race Standings
If he continues on like this, I think it’s safe to say he could end up staying in the NHL for the season.
Meanwhile there is another rookie putting on a display. With 3 points against the Tampa Bay Lightning last night, vanRiemsdyk is currently tied for the league lead in points by a rookie having played quite a few less games than everyone else.
Normally he would be the favorite for the Calder Trophy for rookie-of-the-year, but this season there is quite a bit of tough competition. He’s certainly throwing his name in the hat though.
Injuries:
BRIERE
Briere is doing much better. He received treatment by the way of “platelet rich plasma” being shot into his arm. This treatment seems to be the new big thing for Flyers players lately; especially Briere and Gagne. He hopes to be skating again for practice Tuesday. His status for the big Friday game against the Sabres is doubtful. He’s also doubtful for the game the following night against the Blues. The next game after that though isn’t until the following Thursday against the Senators. That game may be the targeted date for his return at the moment.
GAGNE
Gagne’s personal doctors and the Flyers’ organization have literally been at a stalemate since his injury regarding how to proceed. Finally a decision has been made, and Gagne will have hernia and abdominal surgery on Tuesday. His road to recovery is expected to be 6-8 weeks. Merry Christmas? We’re not sure how this will play out just yet. Remember the Briere fiasco last season? They shouldn’t rush this just in case. 70%-80% Gagne from December to March before he’s 100% is not better than 100% Gagne from January through the rest of the season. The timetable is a rough estimate.
It’s no wonder that Gagne was unsure of whether to trust Jim McCrossin and Flyers’ training staff though. Injuries being rushed has been a consistent problem with the Flyers organization. It’s part of the reason that they have missed the 2nd most total games of man-power lost since the lockout behind only the New York Islanders.
PARENT
Speaking of rushed injuries, Parent is still out with a lower-body injury. The organization is taking it day by day, but for now, he could be ready to go for this weekend.
The Pursuit of Offense:
FORSBERG
Yes, the Forsberg rumors still exist. Foppa will be taking part in a tournament over in Sweden, but is expected to make his decision afterwards. A number of teams have sent scouts his way including the Flyers.
“Philadelphia want Foppa back” (Swedish article translated below by Google)
Philadelphia Flyers want it back Peter Forsberg, 36.Therefore, the Club will have a top scout in place for the Karjala Cup.The news of Peter Forsberg’s comeback in the Three Crowns in the Karjala Cup is hot in the NHL.Most hottest Foppa seems to be in his former club Philadelphia where he played for the Olympics in Turin in 2006. The Philadelphia Inquirer states that the Flyers will send his European scout Ilkka Sinisalo for special study Peter Forsberg of the Three Crowns.Forsberg’s friend and former kedjekamrat in Philadelphia, Canadian Simon Gagné, each with injury worries and could be forced into a groin operation.In September, stated Flyers not be interested in Peter Forsberg, but the situation will have changed rapidly.Forsberg’s friend and former kedjekamrat in Philadelphia, Canadian Simon Gagné, each with injury worries and could be forced into a groin operation. In September, stated Flyers not be interested in Peter Forsberg, but the situation will have changed rapidly.
Take from that what you want. Rumors continue to spread that Forsberg will be signing in Russia.
For those of you who don’t pay much attention to the financial number crunching of the salary cap, what this basically means is, thanks to Jones being claimed off waivers, the Flyers have $1.175m in cap space less to work with. That’s already going to cause an issue when Gagne is healthy and ready to come off of LTIR.
Adding Forsberg would come at a price. If it’s more than $1.5m then that price will be far too much. At $1.5m or less the Flyers could at least demote some other players to the AHL to make up for the lack of salary cap space. Even then, in case of injury, which is likely to happen with a guy like Forsberg in the lineup despite his claims of being completely ready to go, that would leave no room for call-ups. The Flyers, who have a tendency to get banged up and have to sit a game or two down the stretch, would be working at times in game situations while being short a full active roster.
Forsberg’s return to Philadelphia is unfortunately, just a dream.
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