Flyers have one roster cut to make

NO MATTER how many positive statements are made about Scott Laughton's play this training camp - and there have been plenty from his coach and general manager - the reality is inescapable.

The Flyers are one cut away from reaching the maximum, 23-man roster, and Laughton is the only player who can be sent back without the risk of being lost in the waiver process.

And if GM Ron Hextall needed any more reason to be cautious in this process, losing Chris Porter to the Minnesota Wild on waivers yesterday lessened the organizational depth the Flyers have at the forward position. Porter was placed on waivers Wednesday with fellow forward Colin McDonald. McDonald cleared but has not yet been sent down.

The decision facing Hextall and coach Dave Hakstol is a difficult one. Originally, both said they planned to get down to the final roster number before tonight's preseason finale in New Jersey, but a injuries to Michael Raffl and Sean Couturier have made that target date nearly impossible to make.

The Flyers don't need to submit their 23-man roster until Tuesday, one day before the NHL season begins.

Does losing an asset to waivers give Hextall pause when it comes to making the next move?

"No,'' he said. "We have to get down our roster, so it's 23 men and that's the way it is. I guess it just stings a little bit, but probably not enough to change the decision.

"We think we have more guys that can play than can stay on our roster. That's part of the business. Guys gotta go on waivers and at some point, certain guys are gonna go down. So we haven't totally finished off those decisions.''

Laughton has been one of the most impressive players throughout training camp. He showed up in great shape and has demonstrated glaring improvement in his two-way game. In Monday's and Wednesday's preseason matchups, he showed the ability to potentially be used in a role formerly played by Couturier - the shutdown, checking-line center.

"He's done a good job," Hextall said. "Scotty has done everything that we have asked of him, coming to camp in really good shape . . . He's done a good job. He's done what we expected him to do."

Is he feeling safe?

"I don't think so," Laughton said. "There's still one more preseason game and I'm hopeful to get in it and prove I can stick here and play full time. That's what I'm looking forward to right now."

But even if he's to play great once again tonight in Newark against the Devils, it may not matter.

Despite the Flyers' stance that they'd rather keep seven defensemen instead of the eight currently in camp, they're all on one-way deals. Any defenseman who gets cut would be placed on waivers. And, frankly, it's unlikely any of them would clear.

The Flyers can't afford to lose the depth they worked hard this offseason to build.

The final decision will come sometime between tonight and Tuesday. It would seem the most sensible option for the Flyers, if they want to retain assets, would be to send Laughton back to Lehigh Valley - where he likely wouldn't remain very long - or waive a defenseman like Brandon Manning, who, at 25, is signed to a one-year, $625,000 NHL contract, the cheapest contract on the Flyers' blue line.

"We have other options," Hextall said. "We're going to look at them all and we'll figure it out."

The alternative would be a trade, which Hextall said was a move he'd "probably" prefer.

"But that's not something you can make happen," he said. "Part of the good problem that we have is we have depth. We have a tough decision here. You expose a few guys to waivers, do they get claimed? Do you send a young guy down just because you don't have a spot? It's a tough one, so we'll sift through everything and come up with a decision and go from there."

Here are a few things Ron Hextall had to say about Chris Porter being claimed by Minnesota: "I think whenever you lose a guy on waivers, you don't expect it, but it happens, it's the rules, and good for Chris. He's kind of what we thought he would be. He did a good job and had a good preseason so, like I said, good for him." . . . The Flyers opted not to have an on-ice workout yesterday, instead doing off-ice work. Both Dave Hakstol and Hextall noted the lack of energy and intensity in Wednesday's loss to New Jersey. The Flyers have the day off Sunday so Hakstol said today and tomorrow are crucial work days . . . The only two that hit the ice were Michael Raffl and Sean Couturier. They remain day-to-day recovering from upper-body injuries. Couturier said he could possibly play tonight but Raffl said he's likely out. Both are expected to be available for next Thursday's season opener in Tampa Bay . . . Backup goaltender Michal Neuvirth, who left Wednesday's game for "precautionary reasons" after two periods with soreness, is expected to make the trip to New Jersey tonight.