A former Flyers defenseman may have wrecked the chances of one of his teammates coming to Philadelphia.
Last night, in a 5-3 Washington victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, Joni Pitkanen suffered a broken left heel when he crashed feet-first into the end boards while trying to win a race for a loose puck to get an icing call.
With Pitkanen now lost for the remainder of the season, what could possibly compel 'Canes GM Jim Rutherford from dealing young rearguard Jamie McBain, and what could make him do it with a conference rival that's scratching and clawing towards the final playoff spot in the East?
The 25-year-old has totaled a goal and five assists in 27 games, along with a plus-eight rating in his third complete NHL season.
Over four campaigns, all with Carolina, he's racked up 19 goals and 73 points in 193 appearances.
Another current Flyer, defenseman Kurtis Forster, knows all about that
pain, having suffered a gruesomely broken leg years back when attempting
a similar touch-up in a race with an opponent.
Now Foster had been a healthy scratch for Sunday's 5-4 overtime victory against the Caps, and his resting has many trying to put 1 and 1 together on this trade-deadline morning.
The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said there's "nothing hot" regarding deal conversations about McBain, or Keith Yandle from Phoenix, or Islanders captain Mark Streit.
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