Nik Zherdev to return to Russia, signs with Atlant

Yahoo’s Dmitry Chesnokov reported on Wednesday that former Flyers right winger Nikolay Zherdev is headed back to the KHL because he couldn’t find the offer he was looking for to stay in the NHL. Zherdev will join Alex Kovalev to play for the Atlant Mytishch.

Zherdev had his moments with the Flyers in 2010, but ultimately his time in Philadelphia will be remembered for being in head coach’s Peter Laviolette’s dog house more often than dressing for games.

The 26-year-old recorded 16 goals and tallied six assists in 56 games while only averaging 12:51 minutes of ice time per game. His numbers show that he has the talent to be a productive goal scorer in this league given more ice time, however his lackadaisical attitude prevents him from reaching his full potential.

Giroux, Flyers handle Toronto for back-to-back wins

Without Chris Pronger in the lineup, the Philadelphia Flyers found a way to win back-to-back games for the first time in nine games as they escaped the ACC Centre with a 3-2 victory on Thursday night.

Claude Giroux and his line contributed a goal and three assists while Brian Boucher stopped 27 of 29 shots as the Flyers pushed their lead in the Eastern Conference to four points over the Boston Bruins.

Giroux scored his 22^nd goal of the season at 14:40 in the second period when he fired a touch pass from James van Riemsdyk into an open net. Giroux’s goal turned out to be the game winner.

He’s the Flyers’ leading scorer with 63 points.

Jeff Carter: Sniper Having a Stellar Season For Orange and Black

If you’re following the NHL in 2010-11, you’re hearing about the stellar years that Steven Stamkos, Sidney Crosby, and Daniel Sedin are having.

Sedin leads the league with 69 points while Stamkos is the league leader in goals (39) and is second to Sedin in points (68). Crosby is second in goals (32), third in points (66).

Heck, you’ll even hear about Danny Briere on the national level. Briere, who carried the team offensively during their Stanley Cup run last spring, has tickled the twine 26 times this year, good for sixth in the NHL.

But you’re not hearing about Jeff Carter.

Are the Flyers interested in Erik Cole?

According to CSNPhilly.com’s Tim Panaccio and the Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi, the Philadelphia Flyers are interested in Carolina’s right winger Erik Cole.

Cole carries a $2.9 million cap hit, and can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 when his contract with the Hurricanes expires.

The Flyers can afford to add a player with a yearly cap hit around $3 million after placing defenseman Matt Walker ($1.7 million) on waivers Thursday.

At the NHL All-Star break, the Canes are only one point out of a playoff spot. General manager Jim Rutherford will not trade Cole if he feels his team has a chance at the playoffs.

If the Hurricanes fall out of contention between now and the trade deadline, which is one month from tomorrow, the Flyers could make a run at Cole.

Flyers place defenseman Matt Walker on waivers

According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the Flyers have placed defenseman Matt Walker on waivers on Thursday.

Walker, 30, dressed in only four games for the orange and black after being acquired in the Simon Gagne trade from Tampa Bay. He didn’t register any points.

With Chris Pronger back from injury, the Flyers deemed it best to waive Walker and his heavy $1.7 million cap hit to sit in the press box.

It was only a matter of time before the team’s eighth defenseman was waived.

What this means for the Flyers is that they’re content with their depth at the NHL level with Oskars Bartulis being their seventh defenseman, but they would like to keep Walker in the system.

Andrej Meszaros Quietly Making a Case for the Norris Trophy

Coming into the 2010-11 NHL season, hockey bloggers and writers around the puck universe made preseason predictions on just about every aspect of the game.

Who’s going to win the Stanley Cup, who’s going to represent each conference in the Finals, will Henrik Sedin repeat as the Hart Memorial winner (awarded to the League’s most valuable player). So on and so on.

Each category had it’s favorites. For example, many believed the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks were all heavy favorites to win their respected conferences.

That brings us to the subject at hand: the James Norris Memorial Trophy.

Philadelphia Flyers to Reward GM Paul Holmgren With Extension

According to Anthony SanFilippo, the Philadelphia Flyers are going to announce a three-year, $4.5 million contract extension with general manager Paul Holmgren on Thursday.

Holmgren, 55, replaced long-time GM Bobby Clarke after Clarke announced his resignation during the 2006-07. At the time, the Flyers were in the midst of their worst season in franchise history and head coach Ken Hitchock was fired.

It didn’t take long for Holmgren to turn the ship around.

When Philadelphia promoted him from assistant general manager to interim general manager, the Flyers were in last place and had little to no promise moving forward. It was the same story.

Broad Street Bully: Jody Shelley Proving His Worth For the Flyers

When Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren signed 34-year-old enforcer Jody Shelley to a three-year, $3.3 million contract, there was an outbreak by the fans about paying a fighter $1.1 million per season.

Shelley, who scored only two goals in 57 games with the San Jose Sharks and New York Rangers last year, was added to the orange and black’s roster to drop his gloves and bring a sheriff to the lineup lacking a true authoritarian.

For the last couple of years, the Flyers had been utilizing Riley Cote as the enforcer. While Cote played the role well, getting in 65 fights in four seasons with the Flyers, but was not a good hockey player.

Flyers interested Devils’ captain Jamie Langenbrunner

It has been a season to forget for the New Jersey Devils as they sit in last place in all of hockey with only 22 points and 10 wins—as horrendous as the Phantoms have been this year, Adirondack still has more wins than the Devils in less games.

Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello appears to have reached the point where he’s decided it’s time to shake things up a bit. According to Rich Chere of the Star Ledger, Lamoriello has asked his captain Jamie Langenbrunner, who was a healthy scratch on Thursday against Philadelphia, to waive his no-trade clause.

The Flyers are one of “several teams” to have interest in the 35-year-old right wing, and are offering New Jersey two draft picks—a third and fifth rounder as reported by the  Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi.

Chris Pronger cleared for light skating after CAT scan reveils healing

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren released an injury update for defenseman Chris Pronger, who has been out of action since mid-December with a broken first metatarsal bone in his right foot.

Pronger underwent a CAT scan on Tuesday by Dr. Steve Raikin, and the results came back positive for the Flyers.

Holmgren said that the 36-year-old has been cleared for light skating tomorrow, and will be re-evaluated on Jan. 12th.

It has been three weeks since Pronger had surgery to repair the bone. He was scheduled to miss four-to-six weeks. The likelihood that he returns to game action next week is highly unlikely.

The Flyers could be aiming for mid-to-late January.