Flyers sign Finnish goalie; Carcillo gets suspended

The Flyers signed an unproven free-agent goalie with unusual height on Tuesday, and also learned that winger Dan Carcillo received a two-game suspension for the start of next season.

The goalie, 6-foot-7, 200-pound Niko Hovinen, is an intriguing 23-year-old prospect who was 17-25-5 with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage for lowly Lahti of the Finnish Elite League last season. He signed an entry-level contract.

Hovinen's resumé sounds similar to the one compiled by Sergei Bobrovsky, who played for a poor team in Russia, signed with the Flyers, and surprised most followers by winning a job with the team at last year's training camp.

A native of Helsinki, Hovinen was a backup on Finland's IIHF world championship team that defeated Sweden, 6-1, in the final on Sunday.

"We'll see how he does in the summer camp," said general manager Paul Holmgren, referring to the prospect camp that starts July 6 in Voorhees. "He could be loaned back to a team in Europe for a year. We'll see how it goes."

Hovinen is expected to return to play for Lahti next season, although Holmgren said there is a chance he could end up with the AHL Phantoms.

In 2006, Hovinen was drafted in the sixth round (132d overall) by the Minnesota Wild, but he never signed with the club.

As for Carcillo, he was suspended for his actions between the first and second periods of Game 4 of the conference semifinals against Boston on May 6.

The NHL said Carcillo was involved in an "incident" outside the officials' locker room, saying he "engaged in aggressive behavior and inappropriate conduct directed at the officials." The league also said Carcillo had a verbal confrontation with linesman Brian Murphy at the bench before the start of the second period.

"I think Danny lost his composure a bit and was upset with himself for the penalty," Holmgren said.

Carcillo was called for a cross-checking penalty in the first period. Thirty-one seconds later, the Bruins scored a power-play goal to take a 1-0 lead.

Carcillo, who can become a restricted free agent on July 1, will forfeit his salary for the first two games of next season. Will he serve the suspension for the Flyers or another team?

Holmgren isn't sure Carcillo will be back, saying it depends on several factors, including the team's salary-cap situation. Carcillo earned $1.075 million last season.

"I like Danny, but we'll see," Holmgren said.