November 01, 2016
Before the Flyers got back on the ice today in Voorhees, general manager Ron Hextall made an announcement that forward Boyd Gordon would miss a minimum of one week with an upper-body injury.
The good news for the Orange and Black is that, according to the various beats in attendance today, Michael Raffl looks primed to return to the lineup Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings. He last played on October 18th in Chicago, when he suffered another of those hyper-specific upper-body injuries. With Chris VandeVelde also not at practice on Tuesday, you would imagine that Roman Lyubimov will also be in the lineup.
UPDATE: VandeVelde should be in the lineup tomorrow, while it's only possible that Raffl is.
Raffl eligible to come off IR, but hasn’t yet. He’s “real close,” but Hexy not sure about playing tomorrow. “Possible, not probable."
— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) November 1, 2016
Hextall: VandeVelde's wife is having a baby. Expected to be available to play tomorrow.
— Bill Meltzer (@billmeltzer) November 1, 2016
The Flyers’ roster juggling has seemed to work out well for now, with one player always returning just as another one departs. But as super plugged-in reporter Elliotte Friedman writes in his weekly “30 Thoughts” column, there could be some moves on the horizon for Hextall:
Watch Philadelphia. The Flyers are right at the cap with Michael Del Zotto and Scott Laughton getting closer to returning. Would not be a surprise if GM Ron Hextall is trying to clear cap room. Matt Read has five goals already after 11 all of last season. There was a time Philly looked to move him, but with that pace, I’m not as certain now.
Both Del Zotto, who the Flyers desperately need as a steadying hand on the blue line, and Laughton are eligible to come off long-term injured reserve this Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens. How the front office decides to maneuver the roster once they can return will be interesting to see.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
