Flyers' Briere, son escape serious injury in I-81 crash

Flyers forward Danny Briere escaped serious injury Thursday morning when his SUV crashed after passing a tractor-trailer near Binghamton, N.Y., police said.

Briere and his 9-year-old son, Cameron, were headed north on I-81 about 12:30 a.m. just north of the Pennsylvania state line.

Briere, driving a 2010 Range Rover, was passing a tractor-trailer when he became drowsy and drifted into the right-hand lane, said Sgt. Steven Barlow, spokesman for the New York State Police.

The big rig swerved. Briere's Range Rover crashed into a guardrail. The truck jackknifed and tipped on its side blocking all northbound traffic for about five hours.

Briere and his son received minor injuries. The star center was treated at a Binghamton hospital for an unspecified arm injury. Cameron Briere complained of neck pain. The driver of the truck also was treated for minor injuries at the hospital and released.

"I was driving home to visit family and friends back in Canada," Briere said in a statement. "My youngest son and I are both OK. We are doing fine."

Briere led all NHL scorers with 30 playoff points, a franchise record. Briere, who had 12 goals and 18 assists in the playoffs, and linemates Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell were a combined plus-15 in the Finals against Chicago.

Stevens to Kings? The Los Angeles Kings may be close to adding former Flyers coach John Stevens as an assistant.

The Kings, also known as "Flyers West," have been granted permission to talk with Stevens, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Kings already have three leaders who previously worked for the Flyers: Head coach Terry Murray, general manager Dean Lombardi and assistant general manager Ron Hextall.

The connections have raised speculation about the Flyers acquiring one of the Kings' goalies, Jonathan Quick or Jonathan Bernier. Jeff Carter could be used as trade bait.

Speaking of Los Angeles, Flyers executives will head there for the draft next weekend. The first round will be held next Friday, with rounds 2-7 the next day.

The Flyers don't pick until the third round - 89th overall. They also have selections in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.

If the Flyers had won the Stanley Cup, their third-round pick would have gone to Anaheim as part of the compensation for Chris Pronger.

The Flyers lost to Chicago in the Finals, four games to two.

See the Finals again. The NHL Network announced it will rebroadcast all six games of the Finals in their entirety, along with the Blackhawks' parade on a day-long Saturday with Stanley.

The telecast beings at 9 a.m. Saturday and comprises more than 14 hours of coverage.