That was fast.
Defenseman Erik Gustafsson and pugilist Zac Rinaldo have been officially recalled by the Flyers. Tim McManus of the Post-Star was the first to confirm that the two Phantoms were on their way to Philly, and with $1.44 million in salary between them, there are only two ways in which this is even possible.
The simple one is that defenseman Matt Walker could be on his way to Glen Falls.
The other option is that Brayden Schenn could be placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR). In another unfortunate twist to the beginning of the Flyers’ season, general manager Paul Holmgren announced today that Schenn broke his left foot during last night’s debacle in Montreal and will be out approximately four to six weeks.
The latter option would allow the Flyers to keep up seven defensemen, but has salary cap implications that could hurt the team later in the season. In any event, the team is looking at yet another restructuring of forward lines and defensive pairings in the wake of Schenn’s injury.
Assuming the “top” line of Scott Hartnell-Claude Giroux-Jaromir Jagr remains intact, Danny Briere and Wayne Simmonds will have to find someone on the third and fourth lines to move up, whether it be James Van Riemsdyk, Jakub Voracek, Matt Read or Sean Couturier.
Heaven help us, the fourth line could have both Rinaldo and Jody Shelley on it.
If Gustafsson plays tonight, it’s any guess who coach Peter Laviolette will start him with. In three games played last year with the Flyers, though, Gus was partnered with Matt Carle 56.3% of the time, followed by Sean O’Donnell. If used in the same capacity tonight, Gus could partner with Carle while Andrej Meszaros once again teams with Andreas Lilja. Meszaros and Carle could also be double shifted in some capacity with Gus and Lilja eating up minutes.
It would also be interesting to see Gustafsson get some time on the powerplay, where he has been used on the point in the past for the Phantoms.
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