Rookie defenseman Luca Sbisa is preparing to return to Philadelphia. His Lethbridge Hurricanes were eliminated from the WHL playoffs last night by the Calgary Hitmen, making it probable that he will join the Phantoms for the final two games of their regular season this weekend. If all goes well, he could rejoin the Flyers roster for the playoffs. Sbisa wouldn’t be able to play in a regular season game for the Flyers because he would put them over the salary cap.
Speculation Time: With Riley Cote out for the remainder of the season, Paul Holmgren doesn’t sound all that excited about Andreas Nodl being on the playoff roster.
“I think Nodl has played okay for us when he’s been up,” Homer said after Tuesday’s game. “We’ll have other options if we get to that point, so we’ll just see. We’ll play it by ear.”
Could Sbisa be the guy that takes Cote’s spot? Of course he’s not a forward, but the Flyers won’t be rolling all four lines in the playoffs anyway. A guy like Nodl or Jared Ross or Jon Kalinski would be kind of redundant in the playoffs and, frankly, not all that necessary. Sbisa would be a welcome addition to the playoff roster, especially considering both long playoff runs this decade (2004 and 2008) have ended because of injuries on the blueline. Depth back there in the form of an extra guy would be nice.
Besides, if necessary, Sbisa could play up front. He’s already done it with the Flyers this year. Crazier things have happened.
