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"This year, he's really spread his wings." -- Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, on Claude Giroux

The Philadelphia Inquirer believes Flyers center Claude Giroux has spread his wings, all right. Spread them from Anaheim to South Florida and all stops in between.

One year after a breakout season in which he earned his first all-star spot, the 23-year-old Giroux is a legitimate MVP candidate. The award has been won by just two Flyers - Bobby Clarke (three times) and Eric Lindros in 1994-95.

And with the Pittsburgh Penguins coming into the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night, it's not a stretch to wonder if the game will match two of the NHL's best players: the incomparable Sidney Crosby and the fast-rising Giroux.

Flyers forward Max Talbot has played with Crosby, the 2006-07 winner of the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP, and Giroux. Is it too early put Giroux at Crosby's level?

"No, he's been the best in the league since the beginning of the year," Talbot said the other day.

Like Crosby, who is generally regarded as being to the NHL what George Clooney is to the movie industry, Giroux excels at both ends of the ice.

"The way they battle and play with passion is something I can see in their eyes," Talbot said. "They definitely have the [same] intensity. Defensively, they battle."

"There are similarities" between Crosby and Giroux, said former Flyer Bill Barber, a Hall of Famer who is now a scouting consultant with the club. "Sid is a phenomenal player. I know for a fact that he works harder than all of the other players in practice - and he has a [Stanley Cup] ring to prove it."

Barber said Crosby, 24, and Giroux "both have great vision" and can see things on the ice that most players can't. "And you can see how much they both just enjoy playing the game."

Barber, a left winger who scored 420 goals in his career and later coached the Flyers for 11/2 seasons, said Giroux is uncanny with the accuracy of his shot and the way he sets up a teammate.

"He sees openings that other players don't," he said. "If there's any winger that doesn't want to play with Claude, there's something wrong with him."

The Inquirer continues that now in his fourth NHL season, Giroux plays in all situations - even-strength, power play, penalty kill - and he leads Flyers forwards in average time on ice at nearly 22 minutes per game.

Twenty-two hard minutes.

"What really impresses me about Claude is that he fights for everything out there," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "I don't know if it's mean or not, but it has been consistent all year. Right now he is fighting for every piece of ice he can get, every puck battle."

The coach added: "It shouldn't surprise anybody that he is where he is. He's skilled and talented, but I really think his success comes from the fact he is a tremendous competitor. . . . The way he competes makes him special."

Special enough to be mentioned with a hockey icon like Crosby. Special enough that the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association will honor him as Philly's pro athlete of the year at its 108th annual banquet on Jan. 30 in Cherry Hill.

Special enough that most hockey followers not only know his name, but say it with deep admiration.

QMI Agency suggests it's one thing to have loose change, a packet of gum or maybe your wallet slide out of your pocket.

It's quite another to have your Stanley Cup ring fall out of it.

That's the story Theo Fleury is telling to explain how a bizarre note wound up on Craigslist suggesting a local Calgarian has his prized bauble from 1989 and is well aware of who it belongs to.

"This item will only be released to a Calgary Flames Stanley Cup winner of 1989 ... you know who you are," read the cryptic message on Craigslist, posted by an anonymous person claiming they live in Queensland.

The poster of the message had a Craigslist email address for the site's users to respond to — something Fleury suggested in a brief text exchange he was very likely intending to do.

"We're on it," Fleury wrote.

"I lost it at the Heritage Classic. It fell out of my pocket."

Fleury's only Cup win in 15 years of NHL service came in 1989 when he was a rookie with the Flames.

The 43-year-old played in the alumni game at McMahon Stadium that preceded the Heritage Classic outdoor game last year.

The Boston Herald reports that Bruins leading scorer Tyler Seguin was scratched from the lineup last night as a disciplinary action after the 19-year-old missed a mandatory team breakfast and meeting yesterday.

“It is a mistake, something you can only learn from and move on,” Seguin said after watching the team’s 2-1 loss to the Jets from the top floor. “I know it was a mistake. I know it wasn’t professional. . . . You’ve got to pay the consequences.

“I did set an alarm. I woke up to it, but it wasn’t Winnipeg time, it was Boston time. I guess I got in late and didn’t think to change it. It was a mistake. I’ve got to live with it.”

The Bruins flew from Pittsburgh late Monday night, arriving at their Winnipeg hotel at around 2 a.m. General manager Peter Chiarelli said this was not the first time Seguin has broken such team rules.

“He’s had a couple of instances,” the GM said. “I don’t see it as a problem. I see it as a young player who sometimes forgets to set his alarm. We gave him a couple of passes. It’s a young kid who’s learning to be a pro . . . and is a heck of a player.”

Coach Claude Julien added: “It’s one of those things you’ve got to do. . . . When it’s the first time, you give guys a break. But it’s happened more than a few times. At one point he’s got to hold himself responsible.”

Seguin did not like the view last night.

“Any time you have to go in the stands, I wasn’t happy with myself,” he said. “I told myself I never want to be back up there again. You watch the game and there isn’t anything you can do about it. That isn’t a feeling I want to have again.”

The Buffalo News relays that having spent hundreds of millions of dollars on hockey over the past year, Sabres owner Terry Pegula has turned his attention — and deep pockets — to the NFL and the player's side of the ball.

Pegula expanded his sports empire on Tuesday by acquiring the Atlanta-based France AllPro Athlete Management, a high-profile NFL player agent firm headed by Todd France.

"This was an easy decision for us," Pegula said in a release issued by both the Sabres and the firm. "We did extensive research to find the perfect fit. All of my resources had nothing but praise for Todd. His reputation among the elite NFL executives was phenomenal."

AllPro represents more than 50 NFL players, including the Bills' rookie first-round draft pick, defensive lineman Marcell Dareus, Baltimore running back Ray Rice and Kansas City receiver Dwayne Bowe. It's estimated the firm has negotiated more than $1 billion in player contracts since 2005.

France will maintain his role as the agency's president and CEO.

"It's a huge honor to have been hand-picked by Terry, his wife Kim and his entire management team as the agent they wanted to partner with," France said. "Terry gives us unlimited potential for growth and new opportunities for our existing and future clients."

Pegula has previously dabbled in NFL player agent firms. He's backed the Charlotte, N.C.-based Ayrault Sports Agency headed by Brian Ayrault. As part of the purchase, Ayrault will join AllPro as a contract adviser and attorney.

Pegula enjoys being in the loop in learning about players. When Dareus' name was mentioned during a casual meeting with The Associated Press in September, Pegula immediately pulled out his cell phone and texted an agent to learn more about the player.

The Columbus Dispatch notes that Blue Jackets forward Derick Brassard was a healthy scratch last night, a move not unsurprising considering he had sat out seven of the past 11 games.

But the former first-round draft pick said the snub in his native Quebec was especially stinging.

“I don’t know what to say,” said Brassard, the No. 6 overall pick in 2006. “I wish I was playing. But I’m not in. I thought I had a good game (on Friday in Edmonton). I guess it’s not good enough. But I need to keep the right attitude that I’ve had the past two months, not complaining, just working hard.”

Yesterday he addressed the harsh comments of his agent, Allan Walsh, who last week bashed coach Scott Arniel and said Brassard was the “fall guy” for the Blue Jackets.

When asked if he wished that Walsh had not said what he did, Brassard said his agent was simply performing his duty.

“He’s my agent,” Brassard said. “He tried to protect me. That’s his job.”

Arniel said Brassard’s absence is simply a matter of performance. Brassard, due to make $3 million this season, has two goals, two assists and a minus-10 rating in 19 games. He has mostly played on the bottom two lines.

The Blue Jackets were offered defenseman Tomas Kaberle and a second-round pick for Brassard from Carolina last month, but declined.

“Derick has had opportunities to get into the lineup,” Arniel said. “I’m just putting the best people in that I feel are giving us the best chance to win.”

Brassard had a career-high 47 points in 74 games last season. He called the past two months the toughest of his career.

“It’s been pretty hard to show what I’ve got, but at the same time we have a lot of good players here,” Brassard said.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune recalls how it was Oct. 4, 1991, and a dehydrated Jeff Hackett was lying on a table getting replenished intravenously.

He had just stopped 48 of 52 shots in a loss at Vancouver during the expansion Sharks' first game ever.

Assistant coach Drew Remenda walked into the trainer's room and put a game puck on his chest.

Hackett threw it back and said, "I've seen enough rubber tonight," Remenda, now the Sharks' television color analyst, said.

Twenty years later, Wild rookie Matt Hackett made his NHL debut against the team his uncle ushered into the league. Called on to relieve an injured Josh Harding 71 seconds into a game the Wild already was trailing, Hackett deserved an IV and a game puck himself after backstopping the Wild to a grueling, come-from-behind 2-1 victory at the Shark Tank.

"I'm still shaking," Hackett said. "I was shaking the whole time. It's my dream to play in the NHL, and to get my first win like that, it's the best feeling in the world"

Hackett stopped 34 of 34 shots.

Harding was injured after not being able to corral a Patrick Marleau rebound. Trying to fend off Pavelski, teammate Nick Schultz accidentally struck Harding in the head with an elbow.

Harding's mask flew off and he crumpled to the ice. He would later wince while moving his neck as he leaned on the cage.

Harding left with the undisclosed injury, and with Niklas Backstrom out because of a strained groin, Hackett entered.

But Hackett's no slouch. The 21-year-old 2009 third-round pick backstopped Mike Yeo's Houston Aeros to last year's Calder Cup Finals. He was recalled Saturday with a 9-3-3 record in Houston with a 2.11 goals against average and .927 save percentage.

Fire & Ice reports that center Travis Zajac is on the ice for the Devils’ practice today at Prudential Center.

It was like old times for Zach Parise and Zajac, who came out early to do some shooting drills before practice. Zajac is wearing a green practice jersey, indicanting he’s not on one of the top four lines in today’s practice. Rod Pelley is also wearing green.

Still, it is Zajac’s first full practice of the season. Zajac has been recovering from Aug. 18 surgery to repair a torn left Achilles tendon. He tore his Achilles tendon doing a plyometric exercise as part of his off-season workout routine.

Zajac did most of his rehab work following his surgery in Winnipeg, but has been back in New Jersey the last two weeks skating and increasing the intensity of his off-ice workouts.

Devils coach Pete DeBoer said prior to Saturday’s game in Winnipeg that he expects Zajac to be back in the lineup before Christmas.

Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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­Chris Nichols is Sportsnet.ca's fantasy hockey writer.