Paul Holmgren

Paul Holmgren's rocky reign as head coach of the Flyers ended today with the announcement he'd been fired. He was replaced by Bill Dineen, now a scout with the team and father of winger Kevin Dineen. The announcement, made at the Spectrum by general manager Russ Farwell, was hardly unexpected. The Flyers have an 8-14-2 record so far this season and are 0-6-1 in their last seven games. Farwell said he "didn't have the luxury to wait" any longer before making the change. He said Holmgren had been informed of his dismissal earlier this morning.

Before Ilya Bryzgalov had even boarded the plane for a return to his homeland of Russia on June 17, without a new contract officially signed, he already had been handed a Flyers jersey bearing his last name and No. 30. During his 2-day visit to town, he and his wife visited Geno's Steaks at 9th and Passyunk and Philadelphia's most historic landmarks. Yesterday, in his first contact with the Philadelphia media, Bryzgalov turned the Flyers' own historical references - their only two Stanley Cups that are now 36 years out of date - and made them a current event.

Paul Holmgren stood in a Spectrum corridor last night, right in front of the gate that was erected in his honor. The gate swings closed between the locker rooms whenever players from opposing hockey teams are thrown out of a game. It was installed in 1977, after Holmgren and Boston's Wayne Cashman went at each other in the corridor, continuing a disagreement that had begun on the ice. From all accounts, it was quite a melee, their skates sending up sparks from the concrete floor, security guards holding on for dear life.

ANDREJ MESZAROS is not ready to rule himself out of Saturday's season-opening clash against Pittsburgh just yet. Like a handful of his Flyers teammates, Meszaros hasn't skated in a competitive NHL game since May 8. But after tearing his Achilles' last July during a training exercise in his native Slovakia, he wasn't sure if he'd be ready for the start of the season - whenever that were to occur. "It's possible," Meszaros said after the Flyers' 2-hour skate on Monday. "I'd say it feels pretty good.

For several weeks, Mark Howe has been fighting a day-to-day battle with chronic back pain. Last night, Howe said he has decided it is time for a strategic retreat. Howe, who last played Nov. 25 at the Spectrum against the Islanders, said he will spend the next few weeks resting, doing some swimming and working out on a special back machine. His return will depend on when - and whether - his back pain diminishes. Although Howe remained upbeat, and said he wasn't considering retirement, many people around the team believe his distinguished career is flickering out. "I haven't been able to practice, and I've skated only once in the last seven or eight days," Howe, 35, said last night.

Sources close to the situation said veteran coach E.J. McGuire will be added to Bill Barber's Flyers staff. McGuire, who lives in Marlton, N.J., could not be reached for comment. But since leaving the New York Rangers organization last summer, he has done some scouting work for the Flyers, and he retains close ties with a number of people in the organization. McGuire and Flyers assistant general manager Paul Holmgren were assistant coaches together under then-Flyers coach Mike Keenan in the 1980s.

A bicycle mishap did to Paul Holmgren what many opposing hockey players couldn't: It put him in the hospital. Holmgren, who had a brawling career as a player and is now the Flyers general manager, was in stable condition at Cooper University Hospital in Camden on Tuesday, one day after he fell off his bike in Avalon. The 55-year-old Holmgren suffered a broken right shoulder and ribs, a Flyers spokesman said. The team did not know how long he would be in the hospital, but it is not expected to be a long stay.

Members of the Wild family were hit hard Friday night when it was learned that Derek Boogaard, dubbed the "Boogie Man" during his days policing the ice at Xcel Energy Center, was found dead Friday in his Minneapolis apartment by members of his family, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis reported. The New York Rangers' enforcer was 28. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office in Minnesota confirmed those details and said an autopsy was pending. "Derek was an extremely kind and caring individual," Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather said.

Peter Laviolette will return as the Flyers' coach next season, general manager Paul Holmgren said on Sunday after the players cleaned out their lockers at their Voorhees practice facility. Laviolette has two years remaining on his contract, but Holmgren had declined several chances to say the coach would return - until Sunday's news conference. The Flyers finished 23-22-3 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Holmgren said he had "no doubts" that Laviolette still was getting his message through to the players after nearly four seasons as their head coach.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. phoned Paul Holmgren yesterday to wish the Flyers luck in the Stanley Cup finals. Having represented the National League in the last two World Series, Amaro knows what it's like to have the weight of the city on your shoulders. "The Phillies' success over the last few years has motivated our guys to be better," Holmgren told Amaro on the call. Multiple Flyers players have wondered aloud at what it would be like to be the center of a parade like the one the Phillies received in 2008 after capturing the city's first title in 25 years.