This has been a big week for Flyers goalie Martin Biron and his family. His wife, Anne Marie, flew in from Buffalo on Wednesday with their two young children.
She's been trying to get acquainted with the area. Outside of stopping pucks in goal, Martin has been getting reacquainted with his family.
"I've been away from the kids two weeks and I want to spend some time with them to get things back to normal," said Biron, who was acquired from the Sabres on Feb. 27. "I've started to learn the area better. You don't rush things."
"When you're in a new city and you need gas, well, you got to find out where the gas is, first. We both need to do that."
His wife wants to see whether she likes the Philadelphia area as much as Buffalo. Biron and his agent, Gilles Lupien, have not talked to the Flyers about re-signing until his wife settles in and feels comfortable. Martin is hoping contract talks begin next week.
Lupien plans to meet with Biron and his other Flyers clients, Denis Gauthier and Denis Hamel, today in Ottawa.
"Maybe we can begin talking with the Flyers next week or the week after," Lupien said. "We'll see what Marty wants after our meeting this weekend."
Biron said he didn't have to sell his wife on Philadelphia's rich cultural history or even as a major city in the United States. His wife just needs to feel relaxed here.
"We're both kind of homebodies - we don't go out much, so it's not like there is a lot to show around," Biron said. "We never went out very much in Buffalo. She is the kind of person who needs to know where we are and where we are going."
Biron had a chat with former Flyer Bob Kelly when the team was in Phoenix earlier this week.
"We talked about relocating," Biron said. "He told me he wasn't very sure he would like it when he moved here, and he ended up staying 40 years."
The Birons may be looking at apartments before rushing into the housing market.
Loose pucks. The Flyers need eight points to ensure that they don't go down as the worst team in club history. They have 51 points. The 1969-70 club had 58. Regardless, they have 20 victories, which is already three better than the all-time low, also set in 1969-70. . . . On the other hand, the Flyers have 40 losses. That is an all-time high, breaking the mark of 39 set by the 1989-90 club and tied by the 1993-94 club. . . . Because many flights out of Philadelphia International Airport were canceled yesterday as a result of the ice storm, the Flyers bused to Atlantic City, which had rain but not ice or sleet, and flew to Ottawa for tonight's game.