Flyers dodged a bullet with this one.

Icethetics is telling the story of the design of the Flyers third jersey in 1995. The Flyers, along with a number of other NHL teams, reached out to Ken Loh and The Mednick Group in 1995 for proposed third jersey designs. The designers were told to "push the envelope, be less traditional with the designs... and be bold."

The designs Loh came up with are certainly bold.

With vague directions, I guess it is difficult to deliver a design in line with what the team had in mind. Loh was not present when the design was pitched to the team so he could not explain why the Flyers ultimately decided not to use these uniforms.

I'm personally ecstatic the Flyers chose not to stray from their traditional orange and black for these new jerseys that bring teal into the mix. I guess I am a traditionalist in that I don't want the Flyers changing colors or their primary logo but, then again, it was the 90s so this was probably not such an easy decision to move on without the logos.

The Flyers did later add a third jersey but something much more conservative adding a black jersey.

-Steve Dolan
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The Flyers have signed their seventh-round pick.

General manager Ron Hextall announced the team has signed defenseman Jesper Pettersson, the 198th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, to an entry-level contract. Pettersson, who turns 20 on Wednesday, is AHL-eligible this season and spent the last two seasons playing in the Swedish Elite League.

Pettersson is a bit undersized for the blue line standing just 5'9", 187 lbs. but he plays much bigger. He is primarily a defensive defenseman who is not afraid to get physical, mix it up and block shots. The stocky defenseman has shown some offensive upside with a decent shot but did not get an opportunity to flash his offensive side in Sweden.

Playing for the Phantoms will give Pettersson the opportunity to hone his game while playing in North America. Due to his age, Pettersson is obviously more advanced than some other Flyers draft picks.

-Steve Dolan
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Tough break for the Predators.

The Nashville Predators announced center Mike Fisher ruptured his Achilles tendon and is expected to miss four-to-six months of action recovering from his injury. The blow is felt hard on the Predators as they were already thin at the center position.

Predators general manager David Poile released a statement on the injury, "Predators forward and alternate captain Mike Fisher sustained a ruptured Achilles tendon during a training session and underwent successful surgery on Thursday, July 3. We expect Mike to make a full recovery in four-to-six months, and look forward to his return to the ice."

The Flyers were reportedly working on a deal with the Nashville Predators on last that would've sent Vinny Lecavalier to Nashville after Philadelphia paid his $2 million bonus. The talks stalled a bit and members of the Flyers front office grew increasingly concerned about their ability to move Lecavalier.

The news of Fisher's injury could reignite trade talks.

The return for the Flyers is not expected to be much, if anything. The main goal for the Flyers is likely to find a taker of Lecavalier's full contract which has a cap hit of $4.5 million for the next four seasons. The cap space alone would be enough of a return for Ron Hextall.

The former No. 1 overall pick didn't seem to fit in all that well in head coach Craig Berube's system and found himself relegated to a fourth line center role and a power play specialist on the Flyers' second power play unit. To show how far the former All Star had fallen in the eyes of Berube, Lecavalier only played 8:45 in Game Seven against the Rangers on April 30th and did not play in the third period.

The 34-year-old scored 20 goals and dished out 17 assists for 37 points in 69 games this season for the Flyers but only had one goal and one assist in the seven-game series against New York in the playoffs.

-Steve Dolan
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More depth.

TVA Sports' Renaud Lavoie reports the Flyers have re-signed forward Chris VandeVelde to a one-year, two-way deal worth $575,000. 

VandeVelde, 27, appeared in 18 games last season for the Flyers recording one assist and picking up six penalty minutes. In 41 games with the Phantoms, the 6'2", 190 lbs. center scored 10 goals and dished out 14 assists for 24 points.

Another depth signing for the Phantoms.

-Steve Dolan
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He speaks!

Flyers captain Claude Giroux was arrested Tuesday night at The Great Canadian Cabin bar in downtown Ottawa. Giroux reportedly grabbed the butt of a male police officer. After the officer told him to stop, Giroux allegedly grabbed it again. Following the second incident, Giroux was escorted from the bar and arrested.

The 26-year-old Hart Trophy finalist issued a statement today,

Flyers general manager Ron Hextall also issued a statement,

The good news is there will be no charges so this is an open and closed case. No further repercussions.

The bad news is the bad jokes will still be circulating.

-Steve Dolan
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Disclaimer: I would still like to see a Vinny Lecavalier trade.

The Flyers were reportedly working on a deal with the Nashville Predators on Monday night that would've sent Vinny Lecavalier to Nashville after Philadelphia paid his $2 million bonus. The talks stalled a bit and members of the Flyers front office grew increasingly concerned about their ability to move Lecavalier.

There have some back-and-forth reports about who the Flyers are talking to about a Lecavalier deal and a new team entered the mix on Thursday morning: the Ottawa Senators. CSN Philly reports Senators general manager Bryan Murray wants the Flyers to eat part of Lecavalier's contract in addition to adding an additional asset, presumably a player or a pick, to the deal. That's a hefty price.

At a certain point, the Flyers need to realize that Lecavalier still holds value on the ice. The Flyers are not trying to move Chris Pronger's contract, Lecavalier, despite a bad back, scored 20 goals last season.

Granted, there are still good reasons to move him. He has a cap hit of $4.5 million for the next four seasons. The former No. 1 overall pick didn't seem to fit in all that well in head coach Craig Berube's system and found himself relegated to a fourth line center role and a power play specialist on the Flyers' second power play unit. To show how far the former All Star had fallen in the eyes of Berube, Lecavalier only played 8:45 in Game Seven against the Rangers on April 30th and did not play in the third period.

But, with that said, Lecavalier still has value and if teams are asking the Flyers to eat a large portion of his contract and add assets to the deal, I say "no."

Buzz on Broad's Danny Ricciardi wrote a compelling piece earlier today about the benefits of bringing Lecavalier back to Philadelphia and putting him on a different line where the Flyers could maximize his impact. Whether you agree or disagree with Ricciardi isn't the point; the point is there is a case that can be made to bring Lecavalier back and still have him produce.

What's the point of giving away assets and not receiving the full $4.5 million cap relief? I honestly don't see it. And I'm one who has been clamoring for a Lecavalier trade since mid-season.

I still do think the Flyers best course of action is to find a trade partner to take on Lecavalier's deal and expect no return. I'd be alright with that. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there is a market for Lecavalier's full deal despite having to part with only future considerations. If the market is asking for the Flyers to eat upwards of half of Lecavalier's deal, I say walk away and revisit it later.

-Steve Dolan
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This is an interesting take.

The Flyers were reportedly working on a deal with the Nashville Predators on Monday night that would've sent Vinny Lecavalier to Nashville after Philadelphia paid his $2 million bonus. The talks stalled a bit and members of the Flyers front office grew increasingly concerned about their ability to move Lecavalier.

Then the Predators signed center Olli Jokinen today which had many believing that would kill any Lecavalier trade. Predators general manager David Poile explained following the signing that Jokinen's signing might not be the end of the team adding centers as Poile said, "Right now we have [Jokinen] penciled in at center, but he can play wing."

The Tennessean's Joshua Cooper believes Lecavalier is a fit for the Predators even after the moves Nashville made. Cooper writes, "Lecavalier wouldn't be the best choice -- he's 34 years old, coming off one of the worst seasons of his career with 37 points in 69 games, and has four years left on his contract -- but he's not a bad one... He was and still is a Predators option."

The return for the Flyers is not expected to be much, if anything. The main goal for the Flyers is likely to find a taker of Lecavalier's full contract which has a cap hit of $4.5 million for the next four seasons. The cap space alone would be enough of a return for Ron Hextall.

The former No. 1 overall pick didn't seem to fit in all that well in head coach Craig Berube's system and found himself relegated to a fourth line center role and a power play specialist on the Flyers' second power play unit. To show how far the former All Star had fallen in the eyes of Berube, Lecavalier only played 8:45 in Game Seven against the Rangers on April 30th and did not play in the third period.

The 34-year-old scored 20 goals and dished out 17 assists for 37 points in 69 games this season for the Flyers but only had one goal and one assist in the seven-game series against New York in the playoffs.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports 

Depth signing.

The Flyers announced today they have signed defenseman Nick Shultz to a one-year deal. TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports the deal is worth $1.25 million.

Schultz, 31, split time last season between the Edmonton Oilers and the Columbus Blue Jackets. In 69 games in 2013-14, Schultz didn't score but registered five assists while averaging 16:18 of ice time. He doesn't provide a lot of offense as he has scored one goal over the last two seasons spanning 117 games.

This is a good signing at a decent price for a seventh defenseman for the Flyers.

-Steve Dolan
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Sweet deal.

The Flyers announced on Wednesday they have traded restricted free agent forward Tye McGinn to the San Jose Sharks for a third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. The Flyers had extended a qualifying offer to McGinn on Monday.

McGinn, 23, played in 18 games last season for the Flyers scoring four goals and adding an assists for five points. In 54 games for the Phantoms, McGinn scored 20 goals and added 15 assists for 35 points.

How the Ron Hextall got a third-round pick for a guy who didn't have a defined role on the Flyers is astounding. This is likely the maximum value for McGinn and while the trade doesn't clear any cap space, it does capitalize on a depth player who didn't project much of a future with the organization.

-Steve Dolan
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This is a good sign for the Flyers.

The Flyers announced on Wednesday they have re-signed forward Jason Akeson to a one-year, two-way deal. This coming just two days after the restricted free agent was extended a qualifying offer by the team guaranteeing them the right to match any contract offer he receives.

Akeson, 24, played in the last game of the regular season for the Flyers registering one assist. He played in all seven playoff games for the Flyers making an impact scoring two goals, including the only Game Seven goal, and adding an assist. In 70 games for the Phantoms last season, Akeson scored 24 goals and added 40 assists for 64 points.

It was the third consecutive year Akeson led the Phantoms in scoring.

Akeson will be given every opportunity out of training camp to make the Flyers roster given their lack of depth on the wing but it is not a foregone conclusion he makes the team. The 24-year-old winger plays a hard style that endeared himself to Flyers fans and seemed to give him a favorable evaluation with head coach Craig Berube.

I think you can do a lot worse with a fourth-line winger than Jason Akeson.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports