Dare I say it?  I shouldn’t, I couldn’t, I mustn’t, I wouldn’t… actually, I think I will.

Overall, it is a great time to be a Philadelphia Sports Phanatic (Canada changed the spelling of center, so we definitely have the right to make changes as we see phit).

I don’t know about everyone else, but despite the baggage and poor reputation we receive (on what seems like a daily basis) from all across America, I’m honored to call myself a Philadelphia sports fan.  Could it get any better than this? It’s a very exciting time for our beautiful historic city, since things seem to be on the up and up on all fronts.  Please, take a moment to digest and let me explain.

Prior to 2008, we had the longest championship drought for a city with teams in all four major sports.  Consistently, year after year, the season would begin with the highest of expectations, proceed through the season with various levels of hope, just to be battered, beaten, bruised, kicked, punched, mollywhopped, and embarrassed come the post-season.

However, the optimist in me implores you to once again bestow your faith in the athletes we have come to love and hate simultaneously.  Let me break it down for you…

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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.

The NHL offseason has seemed very short after the Flyers’ run to the Stanley Cup Finals. We’re not exactly used to the Orange and Black making a deep postseason run of that sort (had not happened since ’97), so it is surprising how quickly the NHL Draft and free agency period approach when your team is actually playing up until the very last game.

Change has come quickly to the Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks. Game 6 of the Finals was on June 10, three weeks ago. Since then, the Blackhawks traded one of their biggest playoff contributors, Dustin Byfuglien, to Atlanta along with Brent Sopel and Ben Eager in a cap-clearing move, and the Flyers acquired and traded away the rights to Dan Hamhuis (sending Ryan Parent to Nashville, receiving a third-round pick from Pittsburgh) and have received permission to speak with both Evgeni Nabokov and Marty Turco. The NHL Draft also came and went, with lots of trade talks but nothing major coming together.

With free agency less than 24 hours away, the Flyers have $49.4 million dollars tied up in 17 players (16, really, because Riley Cote doesn’t count). That leaves them with roughly $10.6 million in cap space, with the salary cap rising to $59.4 million.

The Flyers have three restricted free agents: Braydon Coburn, Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe. All three are expected to sign, Carcillo and Powe for marginal cap hits and Coburn for a decent sized chunk.

After those three sign, the Flyers will likely lose about $4.5-5 million of that cap space. Is that enough to add a Hamhuis-type defenseman or Nabokov-ilk goaltender? Not without moving a major salary.

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So much for Patrick Kane’s overtime goal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals being the last we’ve seen of Michael Leighton as a Flyer.

Leighton, the waiver-wire wonder who personally mimicked the roller-coaster season the Flyers, signed a two-year deal with the Flyers today. The contract is worth $3.1 million total—$1.5 million this season, $1.6 million next.

This deal can’t be fully judged on its own merit right now. It remains to be seen whether Leighton will be joined by a veteran goaltender (such as Evgeni Nabokov or Marty Turco), a goalie of similar ability and career path (Martin Biron or Dan Ellis) or whether—Lord help us—Leighton and Brian Boucher will be the Flyers’ goalies for the second consecutive season.

Until then, I’ll hold off judgment. Leighton was nothing short of solid for the Flyers, and that can’t be taken away from him. As for him being a savior…well, it’s a stretch.

Leighton is a decent goalie with the chance to be good. I’m not a big fan of his style, as at times he is too slow to react and doesn’t so much attack the puck as allow it to hit him. There’s no denying where he got the Flyers, though.

Now if he could close the five-hole quicker? We wouldn’t be having this discussion, and Leighton would likely be wearing a ring…

Former Flyers and current Carolina Hurricanes center Rob Brind’Amour is expected to announce his retirement today.

Brind’Amour, who began his career with St. Louis before being traded to the Flyers in 1991, was one of the most popular players in the city before being traded to Carolina for Keith Primeau during the 1999-2000 season. Brind’Amour holds the franchise record for consecutive games played (484) and developed into one of the best faceoff men and shutdown centers in the NHL.

After being traded to Carolina, he went on to win the Selke Trophy twice (2006, 2007) and captained the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup championship in 2006.

For his career, Brind’Amour played 1,484 games in the NHL, tallying 1,184 points (452 goals, 732 assists), good for 48th on the all-time list.

And, of course, there was his tireless work ethic:

Still wonder why they call him Rod the Bod?

Today the NHL will unveil the 2010 class for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Unlike last year, when Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch and Luc Robitaille were no-doubt inductees, this year’s class is full of question marks, some of which will turn into Hall of Famers.

One of those eligible for induction is none other than Bonnie and Carl’s son, Eric Lindros, who is a candidate for the first time. Lindros was a one-of-a-kind player, the type that doesn’t come along often. Unfortunately, that was true for Lindros in almost every way — evidenced by nothing better than the fact his parents’ names are well-known.

Lindros was a star from the start. Bigger, faster and stronger than nearly everyone he played against, he was an immediate impact player in the league after being drafted first overall by the Quebec Nordiques, who he refused to play for, and then traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for a monstrous package that included another future Flyers enigma, Peter Forsberg.

He appeared to be on his way to legend status in his early years, winning the Hart Trophy in 1994-95 and promising in his speech that he would win the Stanley Cup. The closest he got was in 1997, when the Flyers went to the Cup finals before being swept by the Detroit Red Wings. Despite the embarrassing defeat, this proved to be Lindros at his peak, before the infamous concussion problems led to the more infamous parent problems, and then an ugly exit from Philadelphia.

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