Flyers lose Mark Friedman as Penguins GM Ron Hextall claims defenseman on waivers
When he was the Flyers general manager in 2014, Hextall drafted Friedman. On Wednesday, the new Penguins GM plucked him off waivers from the Flyers.
As if the Flyers didn’t already have depth problems, they were raided by their former general manager Wednesday.
They lost feisty defenseman Mark Friedman, 25, on waivers to Pittsburgh. Penguins general manager Ron Hextall had selected Friedman in the third round of the 2014 draft when he was the Flyers’ GM.
The Flyers tried to pass Friedman through waivers to put him on the taxi squad or send him to the AHL’s Phantoms to fine-tune his game. They could have kept him on the roster but risked putting him on waivers.
Friedman was oddly shifted to right wing in the Flyers’ 7-3 loss to Boston in Sunday’s outdoor game in Nevada.
He played parts of three seasons, totaling just 11 games, with the Flyers, but was regarded as a quality defensive prospect when he played in Lehigh Valley. Friedman was not impressive, however, during this year’s training camp.
Friedman, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound Toronto native, practiced with the Flyers at their morning skate Wednesday in Voorhees. He is signed through the end of next season and carries a $725,000 annual cap hit.
Pittsburgh has had numerous injuries on its defense this season, making Friedman attractive.
» READ MORE: Claude Giroux sparks Flyers’ 4-3 win over Rangers after he returns from COVID-19 absence
Help coming
Like all NHL teams, the Flyers’ coronavirus-altered schedule is extremely condensed the rest of the season — and additional changes could be coming if there are more postponements.
At least the Flyers are getting some players returning from the league’s COVID-19 protocol list, and that will help them navigate their rugged schedule.
Claude Giroux was back in the lineup Wednesday against the visiting New York Rangers, and Justin Braun and Jake Voracek could return for Saturday’s afternoon game in Buffalo.
In addition, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, and Oskar Lindblom might come off the COVID list this weekend and play next week.
Starting Saturday, the Flyers play six games in nine days: two in Buffalo, three in Pittsburgh, one vs. Washington. They are scheduled to play their final 40 games over a 73-day period.
Because of a schedule change, they now play a three-game series against Friedman’s Penguins in Pittsburgh next week.
The Flyers will be playing four games a week for most of the rest of the season, including each of the next four weeks.
That explains why coach Alain Vigneault said the Flyers “need to stay healthy, and we’re going to need some depth.”
» READ MORE: Flyers lose Mark Friedman as Penguins GM Ron Hextall claims defenseman on waivers
Hail, Provy
Ivan Provorov set an NHL record Wednesday for the most consecutive games played by a defenseman from the start of a career for the same team, eclipsing the 330 that Dan Girardi played for the Rangers from 2007 to 2011.
Provorov entered Wednesday averaging 25:50 of ice time per game this season, which ranked third in the NHL.
Breakaways
Giroux tied Bill Barber for second on the all-time franchise list in games with the Flyers (903). Bobby Clarke (1,144) is No. 1. ... Braun skated with the team Wednesday morning for the first time since he came off the COVID list. ... Heading into Wednesday, James van Riemsdyk and Sean Couturier were tied for ninth in the NHL with 1.40 points per game.