Keith Acton

It wasn't the glory that lured Keith Acton into a 25-game contract with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. There isn't much glory in six- hour bus rides for games against struggling minor-leaguers in such pit stops as Glens Falls, Cornwall and Rochester. It wasn't the need for achievement. Acton, an assistant coach for the Flyers, has a Stanley Cup championship ring and more NHL points than most American Leaguers put together. And it certainly wasn't the money.

Minnesota North Stars general manager Lou Nanne said yesterday that he was actively discussing a trade with the Flyers and two other NHL teams. Nanne would not say what Flyers were involved in the discussions and the only North Star he would identify was center Keith Acton. "I've talked to Bob (Clarke), and a lot of other general managers," said Nanne. "And Bob and several others have some interest in Keith Acton. " Adding fuel to the speculation was the fact that general manager Bob Clarke was not at the Flyers' game last night against the Edmonton Oilers at the Spectrum.

The Flyers are stuck with a goaltender they don't want because they violated a National Hockey League rule that their own skulduggery brought about. This awkward scenario came about yesterday when the NHL nullified the Flyers' Sunday trade of goalie Stephane Beauregard to the Winnipeg Jets for a third-round pick in this year's entry draft and future considerations. The Flyers acquired Beauregard, 25, from Winnipeg on Oct. 1, just three days before the waiver draft. NHL bylaw 20.18 states that "a player traded by a club within the four weeks prior to the waiver draft may not be re-acquired by such club within the forthcoming season.

The New York Rangers added an enforcer yesterday, getting Sandy McCarthy from the Carolina Hurricanes for forwards Rob DiMaio and Darren Langdon. "Toughness starts with the entire team, not just one player, but I think McCarthy will help quite a bit in that area and that's why we acquired him," New York general manager Glen Sather said. New York also gets a conditional draft choice in the deal. McCarthy, who signed with Carolina on Tuesday, had six goals, five assists and 120 penalty minutes in 71 games with Carolina and the Flyers last season.

Flyers assistant coach Keith Acton met with general manager Bob Clarke yesterday afternoon about the team's head-coaching vacancy. "Woody had a good interview with me," Clarke said. "Everybody knows he's a quality person. He's been under some very good hockey people. " Said Acton: "[Clarke] had a selection of questions on how I would handle situations and the responsibilities of a coach. I answered them. I felt really good about this. " It is believed that Acton is on Clarke's short list to replace Terry Murray, along with San Jose Sharks assistant coach Wayne Cashman, whom Clarke interviewed last week.

The Flyers' draft contingent arrived in Pittsburgh yesterday amid rumors that team president and general manager Bob Clarke today would interview Wayne Cashman for the head-coaching job. The NHL entry draft is scheduled for Saturday. Clarke has said he wouldn't begin the process of hiring a successor to fired coach Terry Murray until after the draft. But Cashman, currently a San Jose Sharks assistant coach, was scheduled to arrive in Pittsburgh late last night, and was registered at the Sharks' hotel -although a list of the Sharks' draft personnel given to media covering the team did not include his name.

What does it mean when the Flyers can't beat the Quebec Nordiques - the worst team in the NHL last season? Probably nothing. Although the Flyers lost to the Nordiques, 5-4, in their preseason opener last night at the Coliseum, it's a little too early to draw too many conclusions. Sure, the Nordiques would have had trouble winning in the American Hockey League last season, but last night the Flyers were without Rick Tocchet, who is playing in the Canada Cup tournament; Murray Craven, who just reported to training camp, and Brad Jones, who is out with an injured hip flexor.

The Flyers lost a key locker room element yesterday when alternate captain Keith Acton signed with the Washington Capitals. Acton, 35, one of three Flyers to play in each of the last four seasons, signed a termination (one-year, no option) contract with the Caps for $375,000. Acton had been offered a term contract from the Flyers and had until the end of July to field offers from other teams. Acton's wife, Susan, said he was unavailable for comment last night, as was Flyers generalmanager Russ Farwell, who was in San Antonio for the U.S. Olympic Festival.

As the Flyers' coaching search enters its third week, credible gossip is hard to come by, let alone real news. There was a flutter yesterday when a local radio station referred to a report saying Flyers president and general manager Bob Clarke would meet with Mike Keenan in Canada during Clarke's current vacation north of the border. Clarke, who was in remote Flin -Flon, Manitoba, for a reunion of his junior team, could not be reached for comment. But Keenan, a few thousand miles southeast of Flin Flon at his home north of Miami, certainly could be reached.

Smiling because his team is in the Stanley Cup semifinals and limping less noticeably than he was on Saturday, Flyers goalie Ron Hextall said yesterday there's a possibility he will play tomorrow night in Game 2 against Montreal. But it's more likely Hextall, rarely one to let an injury interfere with playing, won't return until Friday night's Game 3 at the Spectrum. It's not likely the Flyers will risk further injury to him in Game 2 unless his sprained right knee improves drastically.

IT REALLY IS an avalanche of memories on the day when Eric Lindros announces his retirement from hockey. His presence was so commanding when he played for the Flyers, and the dramas were so persistent, and the potential was so painfully waylaid, by injuries and the rest. Yesterday afternoon, at a news conference, Lindros said, "It was fun - I had a great time. Time to move on. " Listening to him, he sounded happy. Part of the news conference was the announcement that Lindros was donating $5 million to the London Health Sciences Foundation in his hometown of London, Ontario.

Dimitri Yushkevich and Keith Acton share something in common besides being former Flyers and current members of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Both are seriously ill. Yushkevich, a former Flyers defenseman, has dangerous blood clots in his left thigh that are jeopardizing his career. Acton, a former Flyers player and assistant coach, is recovering from testicular cancer. "It's been going good," Acton said yesterday of his recovery. "I get radiation therapy Monday through Friday, so I'm grounded a bit on travel.

The New York Rangers added an enforcer yesterday, getting Sandy McCarthy from the Carolina Hurricanes for forwards Rob DiMaio and Darren Langdon. "Toughness starts with the entire team, not just one player, but I think McCarthy will help quite a bit in that area and that's why we acquired him," New York general manager Glen Sather said. New York also gets a conditional draft choice in the deal. McCarthy, who signed with Carolina on Tuesday, had six goals, five assists and 120 penalty minutes in 71 games with Carolina and the Flyers last season.

There were few surprises on the list of 16 protected players the Flyers submitted to the NHL for Friday's expansion draft to stock the Nashville Predators, scheduled to begin play in October. A few high-profile Flyers from last season - Dainius Zubrus, Colin Forbes, Dan McGillis - have played no more than two pro seasons and are not eligible to be selected. Unprotected are unrestricted free agents who have not been offered new Flyers contracts, such as goalie Sean Burke, defenseman Kjell Samuelsson, and forward Joel Otto.

After four years as a Flyers assistant coach, Keith Acton has traded in the orange and black for Rangers blue. Acton joined the New York club yesterday as an assistant coach, which reunites him with Rangers head coach John Muckler and assistant Craig MacTavish. Acton's departure is the final breakup of former Flyers coach Terry Murray's staff from a year ago. Dave Brown left the Flyers organization in March, turning down a job in the scouting department after he was demoted when Roger Neilson arrived to replace head coach Wayne Cashman.

Concluding that his rookie coach had been unable to nudge the underachieving Flyers to a higher level of play for another Stanley Cup run, general manager Bob Clarke made his second coaching change in eight months. Clarke demoted Wayne Cashman, a 10-year NHL assistant in his first season as a head coach, and replaced him yesterday with Roger Neilson, who was a first-year NHL coach exactly 20 seasons ago. Clarke said he'd been considering the change - and discussing the possibility with Cashman - since last month's Olympic break.

Wayne Cashman is expected to be replaced as coach of the Flyers today by Roger Neilson, an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues. Cashman's tenure of 61 games would be the shortest of any Flyers coach. "He's not being fired, but he's no longer the head coach," one member of the Flyers' staff said shortly after midnight last night. Two other Flyers employees confirmed that Neilson, 63, would be the new head coach. A general manager of another team in the National Hockey League's Eastern Conference also said Neilson would replace Cashman.

Bob Clarke didn't want to compare Terry Murray with Wayne Cashman. The Flyers' general manager and president made it clear that he didn't think it would be fair to go over the issues that caused him to fire Murray and hire Cashman and compare one with the other. But throughout the press conference after Cashman was introduced as the team's 11th coach, the same themes kept repeating themselves. Communication. And trust. And respect. And, even though it was never said, it was clear that no matter how many ways there are to explain the Flyers' four-game sweep from the Stanley Cup finals by the Detroit Red Wings, a lack of communication between Murray and his players played a big part in why Cashman was sitting at a podium in the CoreStates Center yesterday afternoon.

No, the Flyers didn't hire a coach. But general manager Bob Clarke, who had spent the last six days with former teammates at his Flin Flon Bombers reunion, yesterday returned to his office in Voorhees and officially entered the Luke Richardson sweepstakes. "I spoke to Bob today, and we talked about Luke Richardson," said Don Meehan, the agent who represents the Edmonton Oilers defenseman. Meehan confirmed that Clarke had not made a formal bid for the 28-year-old, 10-year NHL veteran.

Bob Clarke was back in the office yesterday afternoon. The Flyers' president and general manager wasn't exactly a fount of information, but he was back after nearly a week away. Curiously enough, also in attendance at the Flyers' Voorhees, N.J., training facility was assistant coach Keith Acton, one of two known candidates for the team's head-coaching job, vacated when Clarke dismissed Terry Murray on June 13. The other known candidate is San Jose assistant Wayne Cashman. The buzz around the NHL lately has been that Acton will replace Murray, but of course, Clarke wouldn't say that.