Pronger Out / Philly's Options

 Yesterday night, the Philadelphia Flyers dropped a bombshell on the hockey world.  At the recommendation of specialists in Pittsburgh, new captain and sure-fire future Hall of Famer, Chris Pronger, has been shut down for the remainder of the 2011-12 season and playoffs due to post concussion syndrome.  While losing a player of Pronger's caliber for the rest of the year is a huge blow to the Flyers, it does now open up $4.9 million in cap space on their roster and leaves them with many options to fill the void left by Pronger.
 The Flyers, already with an intimidating top four on the blue line without Pronger that consists of Kimmo Timonen, Andrej Meszaros, Matt Carle, and Braydon Coburn, will look to use the new cash opening to acquire a UFA-to-be at the trade deadline in February or sooner.  Players that immediately come to mind are Nashville's star Ryan Suter and Carolina's Tim Gleason.  As a physical presence and solid puck-moving D-man, Suter would be a fantastic addition to any roster, but Nashville seems hell bent on re-signing him.  So if that trade were to happen at all, it would be right at the deadline, not any time soon.  Gleason, on the other hand, is a member of a struggling Hurricanes club that has been surrounded by trade rumors galore over the past few weeks.  Now with Pronger out, Philadelphia could easily decide to make a move with Carolina, it's just a matter if Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren feels Gleason, or either of the other 'Canes defensemen in the last year of their contracts, Jaroslav Spacek and Bryan Allen, are what the Flyers need.

Ryan Suter would be the grand
prize for Philly, but the Preds may
not give up on re-signing him.

 Other notable defensemen set to become unrestricted free agents are Toronto's John-Michael Liles, Anaheim's Francois Bauchemin, Washington's Dennis Wideman, and Tampa Bay's Pavel Kubina.  Liles is certainly the most intriguing name on the list, but do not expect him to be moved, considering the price Toronto paid to acquire him in the offseason and especially the Leafs' improvement so far this season.  Bauchemin would be a nice fit with Philly, but it would be a matter if Anaheim is selling.  Everyone in the Ducks organization remembers Bauchemin's contributions to their Stanley Cup Championship in 2007, and they may not be willing to trade any more blue liners after already trading Kurtis Foster earlier this week.  If Washington's recent struggles continue, it will probably prompt some roster moves, and Wideman may find himself on the trade block.  Kubina is well out of his prime, but could still serve as a slightly salivating acquisition for a power play unit.

 All of this is speculation, of course, but the Flyers would be foolish not to utilize the $4,921,000 in cap space now available as the unfortunate result of their captain's condition.

Chemistry Schemistry

 "Chemistry" has long been recognized in the hockey community as one of the key ingredients to a team's success.  How players positively interact with each other among different lines or defensive pairings, on power plays, and even in the locker room all play into the mystical force that is "chemistry".  Along with the quest GMs and coaches embark on to find "chemistry", has come the age old task of being sure to not mess with it.  Fans are always afraid of roster moves altering their favorite team's chemistry, and even things as simple as moving one winger from the 4th to 3rd line can cause a storm of scrutiny from the always knowledgeable fanbase.
 Chemistry is very important to a team's success, but two teams in the NHL are proving this season that the notion of screwing up chemistry, or even that chemistry takes time to develop, may be overrated.  The Philadelphia Flyers and Florida Panthers had two of the greatest offseason roster overhauls in league history, yet they're both currently leading their respective divisions and the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference.

David Perron Rumors Swirling

 Rumors have started in the hockey universe, and Bob McKenzie has reported on Twitter, that St. Louis Blues long-injured forward David Perron will return to action tomorrow night.  Perron hasn't played a game since recieving a concussion on November 4th, 2010, after taking a nasty blind-side hit to the head delivered by Joe Thornton.  Perron's long-term ailment was long-overshadowed by Sidney Crosby's concussion, but finally Perron's injury can have its moment in the limelight (if that's a good thing...)
 Perron is a tremendous talent, and adds even more to a Blues roster that has been playing spectacular hockey recently.  St. Louis has gone 8-1-2 since hiring Ken Hitchcock as head coach, and will only get better with Perron.  He is a perfect Hitchcockian player, who not only has tons of offensive skill, but is hard-working in all three zones and has a good amount of hockey sense to serve him well under Hitchcock hockey.
 St. Louis plays tonight in Colorado, but will return home tomorrow to face off against the Chicago Blackhawks.  If the rumors are true, we'll finally see David Perron on the ice in an NHL game again at 8pm ET.  Congratulation to David Perron, hope your health remains in check and you can start this season right where you were last year.

Follow David Perron on Twitter: @DP_57

That Didn't Take Long

 Bruce Boudreau, only a few days after being fired by the Washington Capitals, already has a new gig.  he Anaheim Ducks put out a team release around 1am today, stating that the club had come to the decision to fire their head coach who served them behind the bench since 2005, Randy Carlyle, and immediately replace him with Boudreau.  Carlyle is the third NHL coach to be fired so far this week, adding him to the group including Paul Maurice, and his predecessor, Bruce Boudreau.
 The Ducks have limped along so far this season, "earning" a 7-13-4 record so far.  Their year so far has been highlighted by the +/- struggles of their top line, Jonas Hiller's inability to achieve top form since returning from the vertigo condition that plagued him last season, and, on a more positive note, the surprisingly strong and effective play of the Ducks' young role player Devante Smith-Pelly.  Carlyle has been on the hot seat for a majority of the year as Anaheim has inexplicably struggled with a roster chock full of talent.  Management had already made their decision to let Carlyle go before the Ducks' 4-1 victory over the Montréal Canadiens tonight, as they informed him that his job as bench boss was over approximately 40 minutes after the game ended.
 Not only does Boudreau bring a replacement for a big name coach with another big name coach, but one would expect that he also brings with him the end to the Bobby Ryan trade rumors that have run rampant over the past two days.  Nothings official on that front, of course, but Anaheim should wait and see if a new man calling the shots behind the bench will provide the change of scenery necessary to get things back to where they should be before moving one of their star players in an attempt to find that same boost.