Flyers' defense dealt another huge blow with Meszaros' Achilles tear @ The Fan Hub

August 7th, 2012 11:03 AM

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Andrej Meszaros skates with the puck. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Szagola-US PRESSWIRE

The Flyers just can’t catch a break on their blue line this offseason. Already dealing with the fact that Chris Pronger’s career is probably over due to the severe concussion he suffered last November, Philly then watched at Matt Carle was lured away by a ridiculously high contract from Tampa Bay, Shea Weber returned to Nashville when the Predators matched the Flyers’ offer sheet, and now the latest blow has come in the form of a torn Achilles tendon for Andrej Meszaros that could force him to miss the entire season.

Meszaros did not play in any regular season games after March 1 last season due to a back injury, and didn’t return until Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals when the Flyers were eliminated by the Devils. Still, he projected to be a top-4 defenseman and the point man on one of the power play units, so this makes an already thin Flyers defense that much worse. The team is hoping that he’ll be able to return around the trade deadline, but the rehab from an Achilles tear is one of the hardest to endure, and as a result he could be for the duration of 2012-13.

The injury leaves 37-year-old Kimmo Timmonen, newly-acquired Luke Schenn, Braydon Coburn, Nicklas Grossmann, Bruno Gervais, and Andreas Lilja as the only healthy defensemen on the Philadelphia roster. Of those five, only Timmonen and Schenn have proven themselves capable of handling first-pairing minutes, and Timmonen is coming off of a bad back while Schenn is much more of a second-pairing guy. That’s not the kind of lineup you want in front of a goaltender who struggled mightily in his first season in Philly last year.

As such, GM Paul Holmgren has to make some sort of move. He extolled the virtues of some prospects like Marc-Andre Bourdon, Erik Gustafsson, and Brandon Manning, but it’s hard to imagine that one of the more renegade GMs in the league won’t do something to improve the team’s defensive corps before camp starts next month.

An offer sheet to RFAs P.K. Subban of Montreal or Washington’s John Carlson is a definite possiblity, but neither franchise is in a position where they wouldn’t be able to match, so the only way to lure them away would be through drastic overpayment. So the UFA market might be the only option, and the choices there aren’t great. Names like Michal Rozsival, Mike Mottau, Colin White, Brett Clark, and Milan Jurcina might be the best of the bunch, and they’re nothing more than bottom-pairing depth guys at this point in their careers. But when you’re as desperate as the Flyers are, that might be as good as you can do.

— Craig Lowell

Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Andrej Meszaros is out indefinitely after having surgery Tuesday morning to repair a torn right Achilles tendon.

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