In non-LeBron-related news (as if there was such a thing!), RDS (in French) and CSNPhilly’s Sarah Baicker (in English) are reporting that Simon Gagne has not waived his no-trade clause.

Gagne, speaking with French reporters, said what we all knew: That he had a no-trade clause. What we thought we know, though, was that he had indeed waived it late last week, when in fact it seems to be news to him.

The question is why it has taken this long for Gagne to issue a denial. One would think an apparent move of that magnitude would have reached Gagne’s ears sooner than this. The denial is issued in an RDS video, in French, so we’re taking the word of those who know French that Gagne is still a Flyer with a no-trade clause. The video is here.

Perhaps the more important question is: Where did these reports come from? The most reputable hockey people in this city all had this story, so it’s not an Eklund-type or message-board-variety rumor. How did they all get it wrong?

Coming off the Stanley Cup run, this is another twist in what has been a strange offseason for the Flyers. With talks of a contract with Nikolai Zherdev reportedly close, and all those stories mentioning Gagne’s contracts soon coming off the books, it could get even weirder.