The Flyers will have to make some critical decisions regarding their defense in the coming weeks.
One of the more intriguing: Will impressive rookie Luca Sbisa stay with the club or be sent to juniors when Randy Jones and Ryan Parent return from the injured-reserve list?
Or will the Flyers decide to keep Sbisa and send Parent to the AHL Phantoms because he has a split contract?
Jones is expected to return by mid-December, and Parent, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, hopes to be back when the Flyers start a road trip on Dec. 26.
"It's like an eternity to think that far ahead. So many things can change in a day to even think about that right now," coach John Stevens said the other day. "Until a guy's a healthy player, we won't have a [numbers] concern. But to have too many good players is a good thing."
Sbisa had been on the second pairing, but with the recent acquisition of Matt Carle from Tampa Bay, he has moved to the third pairing with Andrew Alberts.
"He's a big part of our lineup right now, and I don't see that changing anytime soon," Stevens said of the 18-year-old Sbisa, who cannot be sent to the Phantoms because AHL players must be at least 20 years old.
When Jones returns, Lasse Kukkonen - who has already cleared waivers - will likely be sent to the Phantoms.
Even that won't free enough salary-cap space.
The Flyers are about $450,000 under the cap, a number that will swell to $1.3 million if Kukkonen is sent to the Phantoms. But that's not nearly enough room to add Jones ($2.7 million), who has been sidelined after hip surgery.
"When he's ready, we'll probably have to make some adjustments," general manager Paul Holmgren said yesterday.
In other words, a trade could be coming.
Shorthanded magic. The Flyers continue to be offensive on the penalty kill. In Saturday's 4-2 loss in Toronto, Mike Richards scored the club's ninth shorthanded goal, tops in the NHL.
"Sometimes when the other team is on the power play, they are going to try and make some dangerous plays," said Simon Gagne, who set up Richards' goal. "We are getting pretty good at reading that."
Brutal schedule. Although they lost their last two games - one in overtime to Carolina - the Flyers went a solid 4-1-1 while playing six games in nine nights.
They resume action tomorrow by hosting Tampa Bay, which scored a 2-1 win at the Wachovia Center on Nov. 8. Last week, the Lightning called up former Flyer Steve Downie from their AHL affiliate.
The Flyers will host Autism Awareness Night tomorrow. Four organizations - Autism Speaks, Athletes Against Autism, the Autism Society of America, and the Variety Club - will help the Flyers educate fans about autism.
Breakaways. Danny Briere (groin) and Riley Cote (torn abdominal muscle) will practice today and could return to the lineup tomorrow. If they do, Jon Kalinski and Josh Gratton will probably be sent to the Phantoms. . . . In their last 11 games, the Flyers killed 54 of 57 penalties. Stevens said assistant coach Craig "Chief" Berube's scouting report on opponents was one of the reasons for the team's shorthanded success. . . . The Flyers are 6-3-3 on the road and 5-4-2 at home; they are 7-1-2 when leading after the first period.
Contact staff writer Sam Carchidi at 215-854-5181 or scarchidi@phillynews.com.
