As things stand right now, the Flyers are likely to enter the 2012-13 season with eight defensemen on their NHL roster. The question is whether Erik Gustafsson will be one of them. This topic was the subject of some debate the other day among media members attending the prospect development camp in Voorhees.

On the one hand, Gustafsson is the best puck-moving option in the farm system. That is a definite need with the departure of Matt Carle. On the other hand, "Gus" is undersized and the numbers game stacks up him.

Barring injuries, the first five spots in the defensive rotation will be taken by Kimmo Timonen, Luke Schenn, Braydon Coburn, Nicklas Grossmann and Andrej Meszaros. That leaves one starting spot for which Bruno Gervais, Marc-Andre Bourdon, Andreas Lilja and Gustafsson will compete.

As noted in previous blogs, Bourdon is subject to waivers if the Flyers send him down to the AHL. Gustafsson is waiver exempt this season. The newly signed Gervais is going to make the team, and is the current favorite to be the sixth starter on opening night.

Reserve defenseman Lilja is on an over-35 contract and the only way to get rid of his $737,500 salary cap hit would be to find a team willing to take him in trade. Alternatively, the Flyers could try to waive Lilja, place him on recall waivers and hope some team would bite on a $368,750 cap hit for an experienced NHL defenseman with an expiring contract at the end of the season. Unfortunately, that latter option will still stick the Flyers with $368,750 of dead cap space in addition to the $100,000 of dead space they will carry because of the Oskars Bartulis buyout.

So where does that leave Gustafsson? If he significantly outplays his competition in training camp -- in the same fashion that forward Matt Read did a year ago -- he will make the team despite the fact that he and Brandon Manning are the lone waiver exempt defensemen who will in the hunt for a regular job with the club.

Alternatively, he could make the opening night roster due to injury. Timonen and Meszaros are both coming off back surgery, while Bourdon and Grossmann dealt with concussions in the playoffs (and Grossmann also had a late-season knee injury for which he eventually elected not to have surgery and strengthen via offseason rehab). You also never know what injuries may be incurred in the preseason.

If the Flyers enter the season with the projected top five fully intact, Gustafsson may get sent down to open the year with the Phantoms. However, he'd be the first in line for a recall when (not if) there is an injury. Manning would be second and Oliver Lauridsen third.

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The final day of on-ice skill drills at the Flyers' Summer Development Camp will be held today at the SkateZone in Voorhees. Tomorrow and Sunday will be scrimmage days.

Today on Flyers.NHL.com, I profile 2012 fourth-round pick Taylor Leier. Coming up tomorrow is a feature on defenseman Reece Willcox.

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On Wednesday, former Flyers defenseman Lasse Kukkonen signed a contract to play in Sweden for Rögle BK Ängelholm. I wrote a feature on the signing and Kukkonen's strong European and international careers in this week's Across the Pond on NHL.com.


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