SNY Rangers Blog is reporting that a league source has leaked the Flyers – Rangers season series, prior to the 3 P.M. Wednesday release of the entire 2009-10 NHL schedule. And similar to last season, the two rivals won’t meet until to two months into the season.

December 19th, 2009 @ Wachovia Center
December 30th, 2009 @ Madison Square Garden
January 21st, 2010 @ Wachovia Center
March 14th, 2010 @ Madison Square Garden
April 9th, 2010 @ Madison Square Garden
April 11th, 2010 @ Wachovia Center

Also on Wednesday, the league will officially announce the Winter Classic match up between the Flyers and Bruins at Fenway Park.

According to the always reliable Bill Meltzer, the Flyers have inked Finnish center Mika Pyorala to a deal.  Terms are yet to be disclosed.

Pyorala is noted for his two-way game and the ability to play multiple positions.  According to Bill, who is an expert on European talent, Pyorala is at most a third-line player in the NHL, but could be a decent find.

The 28-year old scored 21 goals and 22 assists in 55 games last season with Timra, of the SEL.  The knock on Mika may be his size.  Listed at 6-0, 175 lbs., he needs to put on some weight if he plans on staying in the NHL.

Although increasingly likely, it is still unclear whether Pyorala is in the Flyers’ plans to play for the big club in 2009-10, but it would fit the shut-down center role the team desperately desires.

Newly appointed goalie coach Jeff Reese, has spent little time in Philadelphia outside of looking at houses with his wife. But even after limited sessions with new Flyers’ goalie Ray Emery, Reese’s first order of duty includes calming the aggressive backstop.

“We’ve been on the ice twice and he’s really itching to go,” said Reese about Emery. “He’s really itching to get back in there he has been off awhile.   My only concern is that I don’t want him to overdue it.  He’s so hungry to get back and to prove himself, we don’t want him to burn out.”

With no previous history with Emery, Reese expressed his eagerness to get to work.

“I’m excited about working with Ray,” Reese said. “He’s an athletic guy that has taken his team to the finals.  That tells me he can handle the pressure.  He’s also just 27-years old, so he’s still just a baby as far as a goalies go.  He’s a competitive guy, a fiery guy, and the fans are going to be really excited about watching him.

“He’s bigger than I remember.   He’s a good size and very athletic.  He’s very strong and very competitive.”

Reese has been trying to slowly ease Emery back into playing shape.  But at the same time, trying not to move too fast.

“Its early. Right now all we’re doing is a little bit of movement and getting some shots,” Reese said.  “We’re just getting back into the flow, I’m not going to run him into the ground.  But as we go along we’ll be feeling each other out and we have to get to know each other.  That’s when things start to click.”

Knowing Emery’s negative history with goalie coaches, Reese was asked if he needed to be more strategic with his coaching of the historically hot-headed goalie.

“We’re not concerned about that,” Reese said while laughing.  “But ask me again in November.”

It is no secret that the Flyers are shopping for one more proven forward before the 2009-10 season.  But what that piece will be is still to be determined.

The debate rages as to what position the Flyers need to fill more, face off specialist or scoring winger.  Depending on projected line combinations, an argument can be made for both.  And according to Director of Player Development Don Luce, the team is simply looking for the best player available.

“I wouldn’t value one (position) over the other,” Luce said. “They both bring value if you can get the right guy at either position. We have to target who is available.”

Philly has been rumored to be interested in wingers Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Shanahan, and potentially interested in centers Chris Gratton and Mike Sillinger.

But one name that has gotten overlooked is former Sabres’ winger, Maxim Afinogenov.  Luce was once the Director of Player Personnel for Buffalo, and on his transition to Philly, brought along Danny Briere and Marty Biron.  Afinogenov is coming off back-to-back down seasons, in which he only had 16 goals and 22 assists in 104 games.  At the height of his career, Maxim was a 25-30 goal scorer, including his years playing alongside Briere.  But because the 29-year old Russian right-winger has seen better days, he may be willing to take a one-year deal around $1 million, to prove himself and earn a bigger contract.

When asked about Afinogenov, Luce perked up.

“Well, that’s a name, yeah,” he said. “We haven’t narrowed it down yet.  Nothing is imminent.”

The Flyers may just be playing the waiting game with agents, who are trying to get the most for their clients, before retreating to a likely lower Flyers’ offer.  If that is the case, don’t expect a signing until some more domino’s start falling in free agency.

Over the past week, there has been a constant rumor floating around that Lukas Kasper, former Shark and 22nd overall in the 2004 NHL entry draft, has a tentative deal with the Flyers or more accurately, the Adirondack Phantoms.  A deal has not yet been announced  by the team,  however, talking to Director of Player Personnel Don Luce on Monday at the Flyers’ practice facility in Voorhees, N.J.,  it’s clear the Flyers are aware of the situation.

“He is unrestricted, but we don’t know yet,” said the tight-lipped Luce, about Lukas. “We are always interested in players that can come in and help.”

When asked if the rumors were true concerning Kaspar to the Phantoms, Luce laughed and said “You will have to wait for the release.”  quickly following his statement with, “If there is one.”

The body language that Luce presented made it clear that he was aware of the situation, but he still refused to make a comment.  And although there has been no resolution to the rumors, it is evident that Philadelphia is involved in the pursuit of the 22-year old Czech.  But if they will land him still remains to be seen.

Last season at the trade deadline, General Manager Paul Holmgren made the controversial move to trade well-liked forward Scottie Upshall to Phoenix for pugilist Daniel Carcillo.  Philly fans griped and the media groaned over the state of the Flyers and their salary cap, which forced their hand in dishing the restricted free-agent to be Upshall for seemingly lesser talent.  But as the Coyotes continue to struggle to sign the speedy winger, it seems Holmgren knew something that most of the public didn’t at the time.  He knew Scottie wanted to get paid.

“We’re still just a little ways apart,” Phoenix GM Don Maloney told Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic. “(Upshall) thinks he’s a 30-goal scorer, and we’re saying, ‘Score 30, and then we’ll pay you- we’re not going to pay your prior to that.’ ”

Upshall, who made $1.25 million last season, is looking for a significant raise in the ballpark of $3-5 million, which is the going rate for 30-goal guys.  Holmgren knew Scottie and his agent, however well liked, were going to play hard ball.  So he made the tough decision at the 2008-09 deadline to get something in return, instead of just watching the 25-year old walk.

Upshall finished last season with 15 goals and 19 assists in 74 games, 13 of which came in 19 games with Phoenix.

“Right now, I’m just concentrating on hopefully trying to get something done here,” Upshall told Gintonio back in late June.

But when asked about the team’s constant relocation rumors, he stayed upbeat about staying in Phoenix.

“For us, we love where we are … We want to make it work.” He said.

In what always equals some offseason excitement and drama, the NHL’s 2009-10 schedule is set to be released next week.  According to Mike Harrington, hockey writer for the Buffalo News,  the NHL will announce the release on either Wednesday (July 15) during the press conference at Fenway Park for the Winter Classic, or Thursday (July 16).

What makes this year different from most is the three week Olympic layoff in February.  Harrington expects the league to compress the schedule before February, adding more games and less breaks.  That should make the Flyers’ fans happy, who had to endure three to five day layoffs between games early in the 2008-09 season.

After days of speculation that former Flyers’ goalie Antero Niittymaki was headed to Tampa Bay, on Friday the Lightning made it official, they have officially signed Niittymaki.  The deal is for one year, just under $600,000.

“We fully recognized the need to add an experienced back-up goaltender this summer and today we feel we’ve accomplished that goal,” said Tampa General Manager Brian Lawton.

Niittymaki had not signed a contract with a Russian team, unlike what was reported.

For more on the Niittymaki situation click here

According to an overseas source and now this NHL free agency site, the Flyers may have come to terms with 6′2, 225 lbs., Czech forward Lukas Kaspar.  Kaspar was drafted 22nd overall in the 2004 NHL entry draft by the San Jose Sharks.

Due to some inconsistency and forward depth on San Jose at the time, the power forward played just 16 games with the Sharks, scoring four points during that span.  Primarily an AHLer with the Worchester Sharks, Kaspar verbally agreed to a deal with Dynamo of the KHL after the 2008-09 season in which he tallied 17 goals and 27 assists in 65 games.  However, sources say that Kaspar couldn’t deny the offer the Flyers made.  Terms were not disclosed and official word could be pending a physical.

As per a rough translation…

“(Kaspar) had already decided to continue a career in Europe and in particular the KHL. But then came to Philadelphia “Flyers’ offer, which Kaspar was unable to refuse.”

Kaspar is known for his ability to use his large frame, as well as possess a decent shot and some passing ability.  He isn’t likely in the Flyers’ plans for this year, as he could be another low-risk, high-reward type acquisition that General Manager Paul Holmgren likes to make. However, if Holmgren dares give him a one-way contract, which would keep him from being sent to the AHL without permission, he could be placed on the wing of a scoring line and could potentially be a 15-20 goal guy considering his skill set.

But if the contract is two-way, the Flyers, who do not have a lot of forward size in the system, could use Kaspar as a player who could can step into the lineup in case of emergency.

I’m working to confirm this rumor and will have more hopefully soon.

It slipped under the radar for most, but the Flyers have signed 6′6, 220 lbs., AHL defenseman Joey Mormina.  Mormina was originally drafted out of Colgate University by the Flyers in the sixth round of the 2002 NHL entry draft.  His rights were not retained at the time and he hopped around the AHL, going  from the Manchester Monarchs to the Albany River Rats and eventually the WBS Penguins.  Mormina played one game in the NHL for the Carolina Hurricanes.

27-year old Mormina is a shut-down defender with a mean streak and physical presence.  He registered over 200 penalty minutes from 2006-07 to 2007-08.  When he was signed by Pittsburgh last season, he was touted as a poor-man’s Hal Gill.  He scored 48 points in his four season in the minors.

This move is simply depth for the Flyers, who still have Danny Syvret, Michael Ratchuk and Kevin Marshall still high on the defensive depth chart.