Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren announced Monday afternoon that defenseman Matt Walker may have reinjured his hip during his two-week conditioning assignment with the Phantoms on Sunday in Hartford.
Walker is expected to go in injured reserve, but that won’t solve the Flyers’ salary cap issue once they activate Leighton.
Leighton will see orthopedic specialist Alex Vacarro at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital on Tuesday and could be re-activated then.
The Flyers are about $550,000 under the NHL’s $59.4 million salary cap and are carrying 23 players.
They need to lose a body plus significant salary to afford Leighton’s $1.55 million salary as Holmgren plans to carry three goalies for the short-term.
Efforts to move Nikolay Zherdev in a trade have not panned out.
So what’s Holmgren’s other option?
Look for the Flyers to place Ian Laperriere ($1.16 million) on long term injured reserve once Leighton comes off. Then look for them to put Walker on IR – that solves both their roster number issue and cap problems.
“It’s a possibility we just put Matt Walker on injured reserve,” Holmgren said. “He got hurt on the weekend playing for Glens Falls. We’re not sure but it might be his hip again. We need to get him checked out, too.”
Walker’s cap hit is $1.7 million but his salary would remain if he wenr on IR. He just wouldn’t count against the roster.
Leighton, who played four games over the past two weeks with the Phantoms, seems confident he will be activated on Tuesday. He is recovering from disk surgery with residual numbness his left leg and foot.
“It’s definitely getting better,” Leighton said. “First few games, it felt OK. It was good for me to go down and get a few more practices. The last two games it felt a lot better.
“I think I’m ready. I’ve got to go see the doctor tomorrow. We’re waiting for him to say, 'you’re ready to go,' and sign the papers and off we go.”
The Flyers placed Ian Laperriere on long-term injury Monday afternoon, according to general manager Paul Holmgren.
“We now have two players on long term, with Ian and Michael Leighton,” Holmgren told CSNPhilly.com. “We expect Michael will come off long-term tomorrow.”
Laperriere has not played a game this season because he is still suffering from post-concussion syndrome, dating back to last season’s playoffs.
No decision has been made about defenseman Matt Walker, who was injured over the weekend on a conditioning assignment with the Phantoms. Holmgren said earlier that Walker could end up on injured reserve.
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren informed us that defenseman Matt Walker will undergo surgery on Thursday for a cam impingement in his hip and also a little bit of a labral debridement.
A cam impingement specifically deals with the ball-and-socket joint to the hip. If the head is not shaped normally, the abnormal part of the head can jam in the socket when the hip is bent.
Last edited by MiamiScreamingEagles: 12-17-2010 at 10:57 AM.
Walker is already on the 23 man roster. So if they put him on the long term injured list wouldnt that then free up a roster spot and $ for Leighton the fraud? This would then give them time to see if Leighton can remain healthy before they make a goalie move.
I don't wish bad luck on Walker whatsoever, but I'm also just fine and dandy with him on LTIR all season. It was a stupid, stupid, shortsighted deal in the first place.
Leighton concerns me. First, he's still having sensory issues in his foot. How he figures that is 100% ready to go is beyond me, other than wanting to play NHL vs AHL (which I can understand). Also a stupid signing and is going to force Homer to pull another stupid move out of his ass to make room for a goalie the Flyers don't need and are overpaying.
Under the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams can carry no more than 23 players on their active rosters and if Leighton is deemed medically cleared to play, the Flyers must remove a player from their roster to make room for him.
"In order to activate Michael something has to happen," Holmgren told reporters in Boston on Saturday. "Who the heck knows? Lots of thing can happen between now and then."
Under the CBA a team can send each player to the minors for a conditioning assignment twice a season, if the player agrees. The Flyers are likely to ask seventh defenseman Oskars Bartulis, who has not played since Nov. 1, a span of 19 games,to return to the Phantoms for his second conditioning stint of the season. Bartulis,who has played just three games for the Flyers this season, was sent to the Phantoms for a conditioning assignment from Oct. 23 through Oct. 31.
"It's not an ideal situation, but we talked to Oskars about it," Holmgren said. "What are you gonna do? There's depth there. At some point if this continues I would probably want to see if he wants to go down just to get some games played. It is what it is."
BATTLE ROYAL: "What are you gonna do" vs. ""Who the heck knows" vs. "It is what it is"
Last edited by MiamiScreamingEagles: 12-13-2010 at 02:15 PM.
"In order to activate Michael something has to happen," Holmgren told reporters in Boston on Saturday. "Who the heck knows? Lots of thing can happen between now and then."
[...]
"It's not an ideal situation, but we talked to Oskars about it," Holmgren said. "What are you gonna do? There's depth there. At some point if this continues I would probably want to see if he wants to go down just to get some games played. It is what it is."
I can't see Leighton staying with the Flyers. My first choice would be to trade Boucher but Leighton has alot more trading value and looks to be the odd man out. After what Leighton did for the Flyers last year it seems crappy letting him go but it won't sit well with him being backup or 3rd goalie. Trade Leighton and get some young talent in return. Bobrovsky has proven so far to be the franchise goalie the Flyers have been looking for and Boosh always plays well as a backup.
I can't see Leighton staying with the Flyers. My first choice would be to trade Boucher but Leighton has alot more trading value and looks to be the odd man out
Not that I disagree with your point that Leighton could be the odd man out, but let's be honest, he has almost zero trade value.
He's a career backup that hasn't played this season because of a back injury in a goalie market that, in general, is saturated. We aren't gonna get any return worth talking about for either Boucher or Leighton, and I highly doubt that its a major concern for the Flyers.
The Flyers placed Ian Laperriere on long-term injury Monday afternoon, according to general manager Paul Holmgren.
“We now have two players on long term with Ian and Michael Leighton,” Holmgren told CSNPhilly.com. “We expect Michael will come off long-term tomorrow.”
Laperriere has not played a game this season because he is still suffering from post-concussion syndrome, dating back to last season’s playoffs.
No decision has been made about Matt Walker, who was injured over the weekend on a conditioning assignment with the Phantoms. Holmgren said earlier that Walker could end up on injured reserve.
christ...these two....i dont know what to say about these two 
Oh, Homer ...
