QUICK HITS: AUGUST 2, 2018
1) The Flyers re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Robert Hägg on Wednesday to a two-year contract carrying a $1.15 million cap hit per season. As a rookie last year, Hägg contributed nine points (three goals, six assists) in 70 games while averaging 18:08 of ice time. He led all NHL rookies in hits (238), and tied for seventh among all NHL players. He dressed in Games 5 and 6 of the Flyers' first-round playoff series Pittsburgh Penguins, averaging 11:50 of ice time.
Hägg dealt with a nagging injury late in the season after blocking a shot, returning to practice and then to the lineup a week ahead of schedule. Publicly he insisted he felt fine. However, he was soon demoted from from the starting lineup and did not return until the final two games of the playoffs (at the expense of fellow rookie Travis Sanheim). Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said he was pleased with a pairing that had Sanheim with Andrew MacDonald, and did not feel that Hägg clicked on the ice with Radko Gudas in their brief time together. Since-departed veteran Brandon Manning played with Gudas on the third pair.
Per Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, the
injury, while not serious, was sufficient to force Hägg to turn down an invitation to play for Sweden in the World Championships.
2) World Junior Summer Showcase: USA White members Joel Farabee, Jay O'Brien and Noah Cates all survived the USA Hockey roster cutdown of the split USA White and USA Blue squads to earn spots on the remaining 29-man Team USA roster for the rest of the tournament.
At Wednesday's post-cutdown practice, Farabee skated left wing with his usual center, Jack Hughes, on what figures to be the Team USA top line. However, their usual right winger, Oliver Wahlstrom, was moved to the second line with center Josh Norris and left winger Brady Tkachuk. Jason Robertson skated right wing with Farabee and Hughes.
O'Brien, normally a center, skated right wing on the Team USA third line along with left winger Logan Cockerill and center Sasha Chmelevski. Cates skated right wing on a line with center Jack Drury and Grant Mishmash. The other Team USA forward line had Paul Cotter centering Evan Barrett and Sean Dhooge.
Hockey Canada is not making any cuts from its Canada White and Canada Red split-squad rosters and will, instead, rotate players from the two squads onto a single Team Canada. Morgan Frost and Isaac Ratcliffe skated for Canada Red in its 7-5 loss to USA White on Tuesday.
Frost centered the top Canada Red line on Tuesday, along with Nick Suzuki and Alex Formenton. He also played on the top power play unit. Ratcliffe skated left wing on a line with Jack Studnicka and Serron Noel.
Adam Ginning, Olle Lycksell and goaltender Samuel Ersson are members of Team Sweden. The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation sent a single roster to Kamloops rather than a split-squad, as did Finland. Lycksell is the left wing on the Swedes' second line, centered by Isak Lundeström. Ginning has been paired with Nils Lundqvist.
3) All remaining WJSS games will be televised live on NHL Network. Tonight,Team USA takes on Team Sweden at 4:00 p.m. EDT. Team Canada plays Finland at 9:00 p.m. EDT.
4) August 2 Flyers Alumni birthdays: the late Rick Lapointe (1955-1999) and Mike Peluso (1974).
5) Today in Flyers history: With a salary cap coming for the 2005-06 season, the Flyers traded defenseman Danny Markov to the Nashville Predators on Aug. 2,2005 in exchange for a 2006 third-round pick (subsequently traded to LA).
Markov, who had been acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Justin Williams, had been a warrior for the Flyers and a playoff minutes eater during to the team's run to falling one win shy of reaching the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. At the time, the Flyers were loaded at forward and somewhat thin on D. Markov and Vladimir Malakhov were both excellent for Philly after their respective acquisitions for the stretch run and playoffs.
However, in the long haul, the Flyers clearly came out on the short end of the Williams trade. They got less than one season out of Markov and then he was gone after the lockout.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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