Flyers Rehabilitation Hospital Wing?

Ok, this is starting to get downright ridiculous. After losing Andrej Meszaros just a few days earlier, it was announced that Flyers defenceman Andreas Lilja had hip surgery last month that will sideline him until late October or November. At the rate that defencemen in Philadelphia are coming up injured, the Flyers might be better off sponsoring a hospital wing or a rehabilitation facility. That makes three significant defencemen out with injury in Chris Pronger, Andrej Meszaros, and Andreas Lilja - exactly one-half of the projected starting six blueliners for the Flyers!

While Lilja is older at 37, he played well last season in turning in six assists and a +9 rating. He was reliable and steady, but rarely did you find Lilja's name in the minuses at the end of the night. In short, he was a serviceable veteran defenceman, and it appeared he might be counted on more this season after Meszaros' injury.

The Flyers will still count on Kimmo Timonen, Luke Schenn, Brayden Coburn, and Nicklas Grossmann to do the heavy lifting this season, and getting Lilja back will take the burden off players such as Marc-Andre Bourdon and Bruno Gervais in the long run. While neither of those two players are bad players in any way, they don't exactly deliver the same quality of play as a Lilja or Meszaros.

Of course, if the FLyers are looking to add more offence, Pavel Kubina did play out the season in Philadelphia last season. While Kubina isn't a Norris Trophy candidate by any means, he is another veteran player that can come in and play if necessary. Let's just hope that the Flyers' blueline doesn't take any additional setbacks this off-season. So far, it's been pretty brutal for Flyers fans.

Hang in there, Flyers fans. Once you get some of these guys back, your defensive unit is second-to-none.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!