MELTZER'S MUSINGS: JUNE 9, 2015
1) The Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms will hold a joint press conference at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA, on Tuesday at 1 p.m. EDT. The Flyers are their American Hockey League affiliate will announce that, for the second straight season, there will be an exhibition game at the PPL Center involving both Flyers and Phantoms players and coaches. Last year's event was dubbed The Battle on Hamilton.
The 2014 game was a mixed-squad scrimmage, with members of both teams interspersed on the two sides. Details on this year's event will be announced at the press conference. The press conference is open to the public.
2) Erie Otters head coach Kris Knoblauch denied a Philadelphia Daily News report that he has interviewed with the Flyers for the Phantoms' head coaching job next season. Knoblauch acknowledged to Erie Times-News reporterJohn Dudley that he has interviewed for NHL farm team coaching positions but said he has not interviewed with Philadelphia. Knoblauch added, "I want to eventually be in the AHL someday, but I expect I will be head coach in Erie for the 2015-16 season."
3) Former Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen, a healthy scratch in each of the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final as well as Game Seven of the Western Conference Final, admitted to CBS Chicago that he finds it very tough and frustrating not to be playing after working so hard to return to the ice for one final run at the Stanley Cup following a diagnosis of blood clots in his lung and right calf last summer.
Timonen, however, also admitted that being a healthy scratch is "a sign" that his performance even in very limited ice time has not been good enough to be in the lineup for the biggest games of the season. Timonen, who will retire at the end of the Chicago Blackhawks' series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, is only guaranteed of getting his name on the Stanley Cup if he appears in one game in the Final for the championship-winning team. He does not qualify based on regular season games played, nor is playing throughout the first two rounds of the playoffs and the first six games of the Western Conference Final sufficient.
If Timonen does not dress for a game in the Stanley Cup Final and Chicago wins the series, the Blackhawks could request the NHL make an exception for Timonen and place his name on the trophy. Such a request would likely be granted under the circumstances but is not guaranteed to be made by the Hawks or accepted by the NHL.
4) Today is the fifth anniversary of one of the most devastating losses in Flyers' franchise history: Game Six of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final against Chicago. The Blackhawks skate to a 4-3 overtime win in Game Six to win the Cup. Patrick Kane's odd-angle shot slips past Michael Leighton and immediately "disappears" from view in the back of the net, touching off delayed joy on the Chicago side and despair for the Flyers and their fans. Scott Hartnell and linemates Daniel Briere (12th goal of the playoffs, three-point game) and Ville Leino account for all three Philadelphia goals in regulation. Leighton stops 37 of 40 shots before disaster strikes at 4:06 of overtime.
5) Today in 1982: The Flyers make a major trade with the Boston Bruins. With promising young goaltender Pelle Lindbergh ready for the NHL, the Flyers swap two-time NHL All-Star goalie Pete Peeters to Boston in exchange for young defenseman Brad McCrimmon.
Although Peeters goes on to win the Vezina Trophy in his first season in Boston, the trade ultimately benefits the Flyers more than the Bruins. McCrimmon is a mainstay on the teams that reach the 1985 and 1987 Stanley Cup Finals, while Lindbergh blossoms into NHL stardom before perishing in a Nov. 1985 car accidents.
For other notable June 9th happenings in Flyers history, visit the Flyers Alumni Association official website.