Although opening day of training camp is still roughly a month away, that doesn’t stop the Flyers’ front office from building the framework of the forward lines.
According to CSNPhilly.com, the Flyers are planning to start training camp with Mike Richards centering Claude Giroux and Dan Carcillo. This might come as a minor surprise considering that Giroux proved late last season that he flourishes at the center position.
However, Giroux will be replaced as a pivot by Jeff Carter, who will be between Ukrainian sniper Nikolai Zherdev and sophomore James vanRiemsdyk.
Tim Panaccio wrote …
“Right now the Flyers have Zherdev playing right-wing on Jeff Carter’s line with James van Riemsdyk on the left. That’s their No. 1 line listed on their personnel board in the team’s administrative office at Skate Zone.”
Pairing Zherdev and Carter does not seem, on paper, like an ideal match. Zherdev, very good in one-on-one situations, is a sniper more than a playmaker. And Carter, a 35-40 goal scorer, who ranked third in the entire NHL in shots last season with 319, tends to keep the puck more than dish it.
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette admitted in an interview that despite the lines not being set, due to the success they had in the post season, the Flyers will keep Danny Briere at center between Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell.
It is unknown who will replace fourth-line center Blair Betts, should the defensive specialist miss the start of the regular season recovering from shoulder surgery. However, the Flyers’ fourth line will likely feature Ian Laperriere and Jody Shelley with Betts, Powe or other variable at center.
Keep in mind that all line combinations are likely to change as the Flyers work on chemistry throughout training camp and the preseason.
Phila.Bright 
I don’t believe you know much about Zherdev. He is an excelent playmaker.
I can’t say I’ve seen him play a great deal, but he seems to be too good of a finisher to be placed with someone who takes as many shots as Jeff Carter. The ideal would be Zherdev centered by Claude Giroux.
Even if you look at his youtube videos, like “Enigma”, etc., you can see his most beautiful plays are passes. He is a puck posession guy. That’s not to say that he can’t shoot, but he is not one of those goal scorers who will look for every bounced puck. His biggest problem is inconsistency. Sometimes his game is just off. Once he gets punished for this, he becomes upset, and it takes him even longer to regain confidence. That’s how Tortorella virtually destroyed his play a year ago (he had just one assist in the last 12 games of the season).
Now this is exciting… even if the lines are totally different. It’s almost October 7!