Ville Leino

For the second time in four days, the Flyers signed one of their top wingers to a six-year contract on Monday. This time, it was Scott Hartnell, whose extension came after one given to Wayne Simmonds. Hartnell, 30, is coming off a season in which he posted career bests in goals (37) and points (67). Terms were not released, but the 11-year veteran reportedly will have a salary-cap hit of $4.75 million per season. He could have become an unrestricted free agent after the 2012-13 season, one in which he has a $4.2 million cap hit. "I give Jaromir Jagr a lot of credit for my success last year in terms of focus on the game," said Hartnell, who finished second in the NHL with 16 power-play goals.

Flyers Notes There are positive signs in negotiations between the Flyers and winger Ville Leino . Leino, who blossomed into one of the Flyers' key players in last year's Stanley Cup playoffs, can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. It doesn't sound as if it will get to that stage. "I am optimistic we'll get a deal done," Bill Zito, Leino's agent, said in a text message on Tuesday. Entering Tuesday's game with Montreal, Leino had 11 goals and was third on the team with 25 assists.

One night after general manager Paul Holmgren said the team needed "a bit of an attitude adjustment," the Flyers played an inspired first period in Ottawa on Saturday - followed by 40 of their most listless minutes of the season. As a result, they are trying to regroup from a 4-1 loss to a lowly, dismantled Senators team that is playing out the string. Maybe one can blame the Flyers' latest loss on a patchwork lineup that was missing three key players. Or maybe the players are still in cruise-control mode after building a nice lead in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference races.

Forget the Steven Stamkos hype. The Flyers have decided not to pursue the Tampa Bay superstar. Yes, the Flyers kicked the tires and thought about giving the 21-year-old center an offer sheet. "But it was nothing serious, really," Peter Luukko, president of the Flyers' parent company, Comcast-Spectacor, said Thursday evening. The Flyers, who are now among the teams interested in 39-year-old winger Jaromir Jagr, are happy with the team general manager Paul Holmgren has assembled, Luukko said, and would have had to remove some key pieces to fit Stamkos under the cap. "Plus you're talking about giving away four No. 1 picks," Luukko said.

Ilya Bryzgalov and the Flyers did not reach a contract agreement during the goalie's two days in the area. But that doesn't mean the Flyers won't sign the talented goaltender. No one wanted to talk on the record about the negotiations, but there was an underlying flow of optimism coming from both sides. The Flyers acquired Bryzgalov's rights last week, and they hope to reach an agreement before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. "We have spoken with Ilya and his agent, Ritch Winter, about many different scenarios," general manager Paul Holmgren said in a statement on Friday.

The Flyers got younger, faster, and bigger in the last three dizzying days. Oh, and their locker room became much more upbeat. They also got much tougher to score against by signing Ilya Bryzgalov, arguably just the fourth shutdown goalie in the franchise's history. But did they get better? Well, with Mike Richards and Jeff Carter traded, it will be difficult for the team to match last year's production (3.12 goals per game, third in the league), and their penalty kill took a step backward.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said earlier this week that it was important for the recently acquired Ilya Bryzgalov to spend some time with goalie coach Jeff Reese. Consider their brief meeting Thursday a successful one. Bryzgalov met with several members of the Flyers' brass - including Reese - at their Voorhees practice facility as the goalie and his agent, Ritch Winter, began negotiations with Holmgren. The Flyers acquired Bryzgalov's rights from Phoenix last week and are trying to reach a contract agreement before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. "I had a lot of fun with him," Reese said.

The Flyers feel quite at home playing on the road, as demonstrated by their league-best 15-5-3 record in enemy arenas this season. But even a team having that much success needs a diversion once in a while, so when Madison Square Garden wasn't available Saturday afternoon, the Flyers held their practice outside in New York City's famed Central Park. They asked the media not to publicize it beforehand. "We didn't want Rangers fans to come there and throw snowballs at us," said Zack Hill, the Flyers' senior director of communications.

On a dizzying day, the team that finished with the second-most points in the Eastern Conference last season continued its Great Makeover. The Flyers made several moves Friday, highlighted by the signing of two players with ties to archrival Pittsburgh - the once-great Jaromir Jagr, 39, and third-line center Max Talbot. They also lost Ville Leino, who signed a surprising six-year, $27 million free-agent deal ($4.5 million cap hit) with Buffalo, the team the gifted winger helped the Flyers beat in this year's conference quarterfinals.

IT'S GETTING better. Really. Inspired by the worst beating they had taken in years and pushed by the surging Capitals, the Flyers' slog toward the postseason continued with an upbeat, 3-2 shootout loss to the visiting Rangers yesterday. "I don't think we've done a good job closing out games," veteran winger Scott Hartnell said. "Playing hard for 60 minutes, when you take shifts off, or half a period off, you're going to get in trouble. That's why we're not getting two points every night.