Skip to content
Flyers
Link copied to clipboard

Flyers Notes: Flyers await diagnoses of Pronger, Richards

The Flyers will learn Monday whether defenseman Chris Pronger and center Mike Richards need offseason surgery, general manager Paul Holmgren confirmed Saturday.

Mike Richards is one of a number of Flyers who may require offseason surgery. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)
Mike Richards is one of a number of Flyers who may require offseason surgery. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)Read more

The Flyers will learn Monday whether defenseman Chris Pronger and center Mike Richards need offseason surgery, general manager Paul Holmgren confirmed Saturday.

An injured back and leg kept Pronger sidelined for the last three games of the Boston series. Richards played the latter part of the season with an injured wrist, the GM added.

"We'll know more when we get the medical reports, probably on Monday night," Holmgren said on Saturday, one day after the Flyers' season ended with a stunning four-game sweep at the hands of the Bruins in the Eastern Conference semifinals. "There's no exact diagnosis yet."

Richards managed 23 regular-season goals - eight fewer than the previous season - and just one tally in the postseason, when he played through pain.

Holmgren also revealed that winger Andreas Nodl missed the last nine playoff games because of a concussion. The Flyers had called it an "upper-body injury" during the playoffs.

Asked about a Twitter report that Pronger had a herniated disc in his back, Holmgren said, "We won't know his condition until we talk to the doctor on Monday."

Holmgren met with coach Peter Laviolette on Saturday to discuss the season and start planning for next season. He also plans to meet with the players individually and "come up with a game plan" for the offseason.

Despite winning just seven of their last 21 (7-8-6) regular-season games, the Flyers won the Atlantic Division and finished with the Eastern Conference's second-best record (47-23-12).

Does Holmgren foresee major offseason moves or just some fine-tuning?

"I think it's important to sit back and look at things" before making any rash decisions, he said.

Holmgren praised rookie goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, saying he was "really happy with the way his season came along."

JVR continuing

The Flyers season may have ended, but winger James van Riemsdyk is still playing.

The second-year winger was added to the U.S. national team that is competing in the IIHF's World Championships in Slovakia.

In the Flyers' 11 playoff games, van Riemsdyk scored seven goals, which is tied for first among NHL players in the playoffs. He also leads the NHL with 70 playoff shots.

Bergeron update

Boston forward Patrice Bergeron suffered a mild concussion in Friday's series-clinching win when he was hit in the third period by the Flyers' Claude Giroux, the Bruins announced.

Bergeron, who has a history of being concussed, has 12 points in the postseason, and he may not be available for the start of the conference finals against Tampa Bay.