With negotiations for former San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov at a standstill, the Flyers reportedly sought permission from Dallas general manager Joe Nieuwendyk to speak with his soon-to-be free agent goaltender Marty Turco.
That's not the case, says one Flyers source close to the situation.
Reports hit the Internet early yesterday saying Turco texted the crew at NHL Live, the NHL's midday show on XM Radio, to tell them he had rejected an offer from the Flyers for $2 million.
Multiple league sources told the Daily News yesterday the Flyers never made an offer to Turco.
In nine seasons with Dallas, Turco, 34, has a 262-154-26 record and a 2.31 goals against average.
With similar stats, the same age and a much better record, Nabokov was reportedly seeking no less than $4.5 million per season. He earned $6 million with the Sharks this year.
As each day passes, it looks more and more likely that the Flyers will head into the free agency period, which begins Thursday, with just Brian Boucher and Johan Backlund under contract in net.
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren has kept Michael Leighton as an option for next season but with more than 10 starting goaltenders from last season on the market, no player is willing to settle for an early contract without testing the market.
Edmonton did not extend a qualifying offer to restricted free agent forward and former Flyer Ryan Potulny yesterday, meaning he will be come an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Potulny, 25, was due a 110 percent raise from $595,000 that was not granted by Edmonton. He posted a valuable 15 goals and 17 assists (32 points) in 64 games this year. If willing to move to the wing, he could be a scoring upgrade over Arron Asham, who will also become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The Flyers traded Potulny to the Oilers for Danny Syvret on June 6, 2008.
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Frequent Flyers, at http://go.philly.com/frequentflyers.
