Tim Kerr

The Flyers cast away one of the best players in franchise history and received nothing in return yesterday. That, said Tim Kerr, was the hardest part for him to understand. Flyers general manager Russ Farwell said that the club had to make someone available in the NHL expansion draft and that it was a matter of numbers. He preferred to lose Kerr, who was seeking free agency, in the draft than to expose another Flyer and then lose Kerr, too. Kerr, the club's third-leading career goal scorer, was left unprotected in yesterday's expansion draft, and the San Jose Sharks snapped him up as the first forward selected.

Tim Kerr, the Flyers' stoic goal-scoring machine, did something yesterday he doubted would have been possible only a year and a half ago. He hoisted a handsome, rather weighty trophy without his left shoulder screaming in protest. Kerr, whose career was in serious doubt while he endured five operations to reconstruct the shoulder, was named the winner of the William Masterton Memorial Trophy at the NHL awards luncheon. The Masterton, awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, has been presented each season to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game.

Flyers right winger Tim Kerr, who has come back from a series of five operations to his left shoulder, yesterday agreed to terms on a four-year contract that will make him the highest-paid player in the club's history. Although the Flyers would not disclose the length or monetary terms of the contract, sources with the team said Kerr's salary in the first year of the contract would be $400,000, with raises in each of the next three years. Kerr's previous contract, which had two years to run, paid him roughly $350,000 per season.

Both the Flyers and Tim Kerr would like everybody to believe there is no question the burly right winger will be 100 percent by the time the regular season opens. He certainly looked healthy on the first day of training camp yesterday, when he put on a good show with some of those familiar lightning-bolt wrist shots. Granted, it was only the first day, and it was only practice, but there was no denying that he was snapping the puck much better than he did last spring. By all accounts, Kerr, 28, is well on the road to a complete recovery from the series of operations on his left shoulder that virtually wiped out last season for him. According to Kerr and coach Paul Holmgren, the latest series of tests indicated that Kerr was at "95 percent" of his old form, and that the remaining 5 percent was just a matter of time.

A guy who has had five operations on the same shoulder and has spent 14 weeks in often excruciating rehabilitation has certainly earned the right to turn on his own green light. And right winger Tim Kerr has decided that the time to switch on that green light will not be tomorrow night, when the Patrick Division-leading Washington Capitals will come to the Spectrum for a first-place showdown against the Flyers. "I felt real good, real strong," Kerr said yesterday after his first practice session since his often-injured left shoulder caved in during the sixth game of the Stanley Cup quarterfinals against the Islanders on April 30. "But I'm still not where I want to be before I play.

After five operations in the last seven months, Tim Kerr's left shoulder has gone numb. And so has the rest of him. How many times can you endure the trauma of major surgery - the tests, the prognoses, the anesthesia, the pain - before it becomes maddening? How many times can you face the same barrage of questions - How does it feel? Where does it hurt? - before you begin looking for some quiet, peaceful cocoon? How many times can you wonder why it had to happen to you before you just go numb?

Officially, Magnus Roupe has joined the Flyers just to get acquainted. The team is considering signing the 24-year-old winger, a late choice in a long-ago NHL draft, for next season. Coach Mike Keenan would like to see what makes the Swede tick, and also if he can get through one of Keenan's practices still standing. "It would be a long shot that we would use him," Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke said. "Like Kent Hawley (a No. 2 pick last June), he's here for acclimation purposes.

Flyers winger Tim Kerr remained in seclusion yesterday at his home in Haverford, the day after his wife, Kathy, passed away, apparently from complications arising from childbirth. Tim Kerr's agent, Steve Mountain, said Kerr asked him to thank the many people who have expressed their support and concern. "Tim said knowing that so many people care has been a great comfort to him in a very difficult time," Mountain said. Meanwhile, Kathy Kerr's sudden death became even more of a puzzle yesterday, when preliminary autopsy reports were inconclusive.

Defenseman Mark Howe played his first game of the preseason last night and scored a goal, but Hartford center Ray Ferraro had a hat trick as the Whalers beat the Flyers, 4-2, at the Civic Center. Defenseman Gord Murphy also scored for the Flyers, who are now 1-3-1 on the preseason. The Flyers play the New York Rangers tonight at the Suncoast Dome in Orlando, Fla. Right winger Tim Kerr, who was to make his preseason debut tonight, will wait another week to ensure that his left shoulder is fully recovered from off-season surgery, the Flyers said.

Tim Kerr could have been any player shifting restlessly on the New York Rangers' bench last night, waiting for the pregame festivities to conclude. At center ice, representatives of Flyers' Wives Charities were announcing that this year's Carnival to benefit leukemia research had netted $609,228. Several times, they paid tribute to their former chairwoman, Kathy Kerr, who died suddenly 17 months ago, from complications arising from childbirth. At each mention of his late wife's name, Tim Kerr joined in the polite applause, tapping his stick against the boards.

Claude Giroux stood there, his arms folded, gently stroking his ginger playoff beard and trying to come up with an answer. The assembled press corps was eager for Giroux's take on why the recently dubbed "best player in the world" dropped off from a type of first-round series that would satisfy most players for an entire playoff run to just one point in three games against the New Jersey Devils. Giroux, 24, shrugged off the questions. "We were one goal away from us leading 2-1," Giroux said.

TWO DECADES after calling it a career, Tim Kerr still holds the Flyers' record for 50-goal seasons (four straight, starting in 1983-84), and the NHL mark for power-play goals in one season (34, in 1985-86). Skill obviously had a bunch to do with that. But it was as much about the way did his job. Most of the time, he planted himself in front of the net looking to make something happen, a style that came with certain physical consequences. There's a reason he once had five shoulder surgeries in a 14-month period.

Watching his son play, the father easily sees the broad-shouldered resemblance. "Different nets, but the same concept," Tim Kerr said of watching his son operate in tight spots. "You're playing off a man, and you're anticipating what's going to happen there. " While the father was one of the great close-quarter scorers in Flyers history, the son has taken similar traits in a different direction. A freshman at the University of the Sciences, Garret Kerr is the top rebounder nationally in NCAA Division II. His 12.3 rebounds per game are fourth-best nationally in any division.

Propelled by their domination in opponents' arenas, the Flyers have joined the Eastern Conference's elite. Now they have to work on getting some home mojo. The Flyers have an NHL-best 6-1-1 road record, including a 2-0-1 mark during a three-game trip that ended with Monday's 5-3 win at Carolina. "I think it really starts with good leadership," coach Peter Laviolette said of the team's road success. "Our leadership has been excellent. From there, I think it comes from competitiveness.

Flyers forward Ian Laperriere has won the NHL's Masterton Trophy for his perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey after suffering what is likely a career-ending injury in 2010. Laperriere topped two other finalists, Calgary's Daymond Langkow and Anaheim's Ray Emery, during the NHL Awards ceremony. Laperriere, 37, signed with the Flyers before the 2009-10 season. He blocked a shot with his face during last year's playoffs, suffering a concussion and fractured orbital bone.

LAS VEGAS - In October, when hockey becomes a blip on the Philadelphia sports radar again, the Flyers will see a familiar name on their Opening Night roster: Ian Laperriere. But it's highly unlikely that Laperriere will be on the ice in uniform. Multiple neurologists and concussion experts have advised Laperriere, 37, to hang up his skates for good. He has not played since the Flyers were eliminated in the Stanley Cup finals by Chicago last June. Laperriere sat out last season, which he called the toughest of his 16-year career, with post-concussion symptoms and an eye injury sustained when blocking a puck with his face earlier in the 2010 playoff run. But it's accurate to say that the Flyers will not have a bigger supporter - or more dedicated teammate - than Laperriere in their locker room next season.

IN THE MIDDLE of today's paper is a special page commemorating the Flyers' 1,000th regular-season home win. Since the Flyers were born in 1967-68, only Montreal and Boston have won more at home. It is a franchise accomplishment created by individual feats. One of Mike Emrick's favorites occurred nearly 30 years ago. Before Emrick became the voice of the NHL, he was a Flyers' announcer for a couple of seasons in the early 1980s. He recalled quickly (and with impressive detail)

Every time Flyers center Jeff Carter scores a home goal - and that happens quite frequently these days - the Wachovia Center scoreboard sends a message to its fans: Write Him In, it flashes. Carter, you see, is not on the all-star ballot. Fans are picking the starters for the Jan. 25 All-Star Game in Montreal. The fans' all-star voting closes on Jan. 2. As of yesterday, the Carter voting campaign hasn't exactly been Obama-like. Carter had received 12,766 write-in votes and was in 31st place among forwards - far behind the three leading forwards: Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby (725,808 votes)

Rick Tocchet can't hide the disappointment. For months the Flyers right winger has worked tirelessly at rehabilitating the torn patella tendon in his left knee. He is healthy and ready to play. Coach Bill Barber, however, isn't ready to break up what has become a winning combination on the ice. "There's no hurry here," Barber said Tuesday. This was the road trip during which Barber and the right winger were to talk about when or whether he would play this season. They have not spoken.

Success came late to John LeClair. Somehow, he has never quite learned to trust it. As LeClair relentlessly grinds out what should be his fourth successive 50-goal season, his place in the NHL firmament is well-established. Sony PlayStation commercials. A contract that, although it might be a bit of a bargain for the Flyers compared with what other superstars around the league make, still will pay him the tidy sum of $3.6 million this season. A sprawling South Jersey home for his growing family, a block away from that of linemate Eric Lindros.