Hockey Hearsay

Hockey Hearsay runs weekdays, 12 months a year; mixing NHL stories, quotes and fantasy takes.

The Philadelphia Daily News says that Ilya Bryzgalov did not see Claude Giroux skate off the ice in pain on Saturday, but he said what every Flyers fan, player, coach and executive was thinking.

"Oh my God," Bryzgalov said. "That's bad. I hope it's nothing serious, because he's a big part of our team and he's one of our best players."

Giroux was accidentally kneed in the head by teammate Wayne Simmonds as he was striding up the ice in the Flyers' 5-2 win over Tampa Bay and he immediately left the game. The HBO cameras filming the Flyers' every move were forced out of the team's locker room to comply with NHL rules regarding a possible concussion.

The good news is that Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said Giroux "felt better" yesterday morning and will be re-examined today. The truth is that it is really too soon to tell if Giroux is in the clear.

History aside, take the Flyers' most recent brush with concussions as proof. Sometimes, the symptoms take time to rear their ugly head. On Friday, the Flyers officially labeled Chris Pronger as "out indefinitely" after suffering from concussion-like symptoms. He was high-sticked in the eye on Oct. 24 but returned to the ice on Nov. 9 after being cleared to play.

Pronger played just four games, but it wasn't his wonky knee - which ultimately needed surgery on Nov. 29 - that kept him off the ice.

Pronger explained the symptoms as something he "never felt before," with persistent headaches, nausea and general sluggishness. On Wednesday in Pittsburgh, he will meet with renowned concussion experts Dr. Mickey Collins and Dr. Joe Maroon, the same specialists who have kept tabs on Sidney Crosby. It's not known whether the high-stick, or the resulting damage to his right eye, have any connection to Pronger's symptoms.

The article notes Brayden Schenn was knocked around by Raffi Torres on Dec. 3 in Phoenix, but it took until Dec. 5 for him to report his symptoms to the team's training staff. Schenn continued to play in the game in Phoenix, felt fine on the flight home to Philadelphia after the game, followed it with a day off Monday and even got through half a practice Tuesday before being unable to continue.

The Flyers believe Schenn's concussion is more "mild" at this point, so he will not be accompanying Pronger to Pittsburgh.

But what do Pronger and Schenn have in common? Neither player felt the symptoms immediately after the contact - in one case it took weeks, in the other it was days - and both of them passed their baseline IMPACT tests.

The Daily News believes that doesn't exactly bode well for the validity of the IMPACT test.

Holmgren did not say yesterday whether or not Giroux has undergone a baseline or IMPACT test to better evaluate his condition. But Holmgren said on Saturday night that Giroux was "not really" dealing with headaches after he connected with Simmonds' knee.

For now, it would make sense if the Flyers held Giroux out for a game or two this week just to be sure no delayed symptoms creep up. As Holmgren noted on Saturday night, games in December for a first-place team mean little in the grand scheme of an 82-game schedule. It would be a lot easier to deal with any pain now than have it linger until March or April.

"Claude has been playing on a different stratosphere here for us, so obviously it hurts," Holmgren said. "This really is just precautionary at this stage . . . so we'll just err on the side of caution here."

This week, The Boston Globe believes the Bruins will learn what life is like without arguably their most important player.

Because of a leg injury, Zdeno Chara likely will not be available for games against Los Angeles, Ottawa, and Philadelphia, according to a source with knowledge of the diagnosis. If Chara’s recovery goes well, the captain could return against Montreal at TD Garden Dec. 19. The Bruins could also choose to keep Chara out of uniform until after Christmas to give his injury more time to heal. They resume play after the holiday break Dec. 28 against Phoenix.

Chara suffered the injury during a power play in the second period of Saturday night’s 5-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Chara skated off the ice, then walked to the dressing room without assistance. After the game, Chara was walking without noticeable discomfort. He was examined by team doctors yesterday in Boston.

Given the expected duration of Chara’s absence, the captain could have suffered a knee sprain, which usually requires two weeks of recovery.

Offensively, Andrew Ference and Joe Corvo will assume more power-play responsibilities. Ference replaced Chara at the point on the No. 1 power-play unit against the Blue Jackets. Corvo pumped in two strikes on Saturday, including the game-winner on the power play. The Bruins could also move Patrice Bergeron to the point on the man-advantage.

The Ottawa Senators' experiment with forward Nikita Filatov is officially over this season.

The 21-year-old is on his way to the KHL to join HC CSKA Moscow, according to Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos.

Filatov has spent the 2011-12 season between the Ottawa Senators and the Binghamton Senators of the AHL.

In nine games with the NHL club, he recorded only one assist. Filatov finished with seven goals and five assists in 15 games with Binghamton.

The Ottawa Citizen indicates this is the second time a low-risk, potential high-reward gamble with the Columbus Blue Jackets has come up snake eyes for Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray.

A few seasons ago, he dealt popular centre Antoine Vermette for talented-yet-brittle goalie Pascal Leclaire, who spent much of his time with the Senators on injured reserve.

Ottawa traded a third round draft pick this summer for Filatov, for former sixth-overall NHL draft pick (2008) who had underwhelmed in limited work at the NHL level.

The hope was that Filatov might thrive with a change of scenery, but never did establish himself here after running afoul of head coach Paul MacLean early in the season.

Instead, he spent most of the season in the AHL and played limited minutes when he was called up to the big club. Often relegated to the fourth line, Filatov averaged just 9:49 of ice time per game.

The Edmonton Journal points out that through 19 games this season, Hemsky has three goals, eight assists and he still hasn’t played that sit-up-and-take-notice game that was once his signature.

Maybe that’s because he’s coming off back-to-back shoulder surgeries that whittled his previous two seasons down to a total of 69 games.

Maybe it’s because his role has changed since the lottery picks arrived. Taylor Hall has become the dynamic sparkplug. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the skilled centre who now controls the half wall on the power play.

In seasons past, it was Hemsky who would, and could, turn games around.

“I think every player goes through it where maybe you push a little bit when you don’t find success. You try and do a little more. Then he gets frustrated. It’s tough,” said captain Shawn Horcoff, who has often played alongside the right winger.

“He’s missed a lot of hockey. It will take him some time, but he’s going to be there for us in the end. I’m not worried about Ales Hemsky one bit.

“Listen, the guy cares. It’s unfair with some of the criticism he’s been getting because he does care. He’s got the total respect of everyone in the locker-room.”

The Journal notes that as frustrated as he was on Saturday night, Hemsky, 28, was not ­bellyaching. It is obvious he’s adjusting to the new team dynamics as he tries to find his game.

“Of course I’m down, but I’m trying to stay positive,” he continued. “We have a young team that’s playing good, so whenever they use me I have to take the opportunity and try to do something with it. If it’s 20 minutes or 14 minutes I can’t control that. I can just control myself,” said the Oilers first pick in the 2001 draft (13th overall). Hemsky is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

“Right now I’m just trying to be a positive factor and whatever opportunity I have on the ice, I have to take a chance and use it.”

Head coach Tom Renney suggested that ­maybe the veteran’s job description is changing.

“You’re looking at the transformation of a team … and he’s a part of that,” Renney said recently. “He’s a vital piece to our puzzle, there’s no question about that, but you have to make sure you’re playing within our game plan, within our team needs. He has some very important tangibles that we require.

“But is the glass half empty or half full? That’s a choice you make every morning.”

The Raleigh News & Observer recalls that pulled from Friday's game against the Jets in the second period after Winnipeg had taken a 4-0 lead, Canes goalie Cam Ward was visibly upset on the bench, frustrated, the emotions of a tough season spilling out of him.

"I think it built up over a period of time," Ward said Sunday. "I pretty much yelled a bad word as loud as I could a couple of times and that was it."

Ward, benched for the second time in three games, said he was "purely venting" and that the brief, uncharacteristic tirade was not aimed at head coach Kirk Muller, who was coaching his sixth game with the Canes.

"I was absolutely not directing it at anybody," Ward said.

"I was thinking about smashing the stick but didn't do that. I just started yelling."

"It's over and done with," he added. "I take pride in remaining calm. But sometimes it's an emotional game and gets the best of you."

Which is OK, Muller said he told Ward.

"He showed emotion because he cares," Muller said. "If he didn't care and he wasn't a winner, he probably would have just come to the bench (quietly). But I was actually glad to see the emotion he had."

Ward, 27, was an NHL All-Star last season, when he played a career-high 74 games. But this season has been nightmarish, for Ward and the Canes (9-18-4), who have seen Paul Maurice fired and tumbled to the bottom of the NHL's Eastern Conference.

Muller said he told Ward all he wanted from him was two days of hard practice, then to concentrate on his first save against the Leafs. Forget all the rest, Muller said.

"I told him, 'You'll get through it,'" Muller said. "I said, 'When the fun times come, you're going to enjoy it that much more.'"

That's what Ward is after.

"I write 'Have fun' on my sticks for a reason," Ward said. "And although at times it's been extremely difficult to have fun, I need to do that and get back to that.

"I need to try to stay positive and get my game back in control. Obviously things aren't coming easy. There's only one way to get out of it and that's by putting in the work."

The Chicago Tribune says that having the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony held in his hometown has made the experience that much more special for Chris Chelios.

The Evergreen Park native who attended Mt. Carmel High School played 26 seasons in the NHL — 1,651 games — before retiring following the 2009-10 season. Nine of the three-time Norris Trophy winner's seasons came with the Blackhawks.

"I grew up watching Bobby Hull and (Stan) Mikita," said Chelios, who was traded from the Hawks to the Red Wings in 1999 and currently holds an advisory position to the Wings' hockey operations staff. "(Chicago) is where I'm from. This is home (and) it's always going to be home. I loved growing up here and I love coming back."

When introduced during a break in the action of the Hawks' game against the Sharks, Chelios received mostly cheers from the United Center crowd. That hasn't always been the case. Chelios still receives a chilly reception from some Hawks fans after once famously saying he would never play for Detroit.

"Does it bother me? Absolutely," Chelios said of the chilly reception. "But I understand it. I swore I'd never play for (the Wings) and then things changed overnight. The biggest reason going to Detroit is not only was it a great team and great opportunity, but it was four hours from here and I was able to commute and see my family. They have to forgive me sooner or later."

Chelios will be enshrined Monday night at a downtown hotel along with hockey announcer Mike Emrick, Flyers owner Ed Snider, former Hawks defenseman Gary Suter and longtime Coyotes and Blues standout Keith Tkachuk.

ESPN Dallas reports that former Stars goalie Marty Turco has signed a deal to play for EC Red Bull Salzburg of Austria in the Red Bulls Salute, the final tournament of the European Trophy.

Turco arrived in Salzburg, Austria Monday and said: “I feel fit and ready to win,” according to the club’s official web site.

The tournament features eight teams from around Europe and runs from December 16 to December 18.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes that defenseman Simon Despres has been "thrown into the fire" during his first two weeks in the NHL, according to coach Dan Bylsma.

By all accounts, he is passing the test.

"All these young guys have been better than we thought they'd be," defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "Simon has been really, really good."

Despres, the 20-year-old who was selected in the first round of the 2009 draft, has an assist and is a plus-1 in his first five games.

And those weren't just any five games.

He faced Alex Ovechkin and Washington in his debut, and later took on defending Stanley Cup champion Boston and made his first trip to always-hostile Philadelphia.

"Those were some of the best-paced games of the season," Orpik said, "and he's played really well."

The article notes that by no means is Despres a finished product, but he has not looked out of place at the NHL level. He has been challenged in numerous one-on-one battles and hasn't been burned yet.

"If you're not noticed," Orpik said, "that's a good thing."

Despres produced an assist in his first game, and has shown flashes of his superb offensive ability. He jumped into the rush in the second period against the New York Islanders, only to be stoned by a strong save from goaltender Al Montoya.

"And he's only going to get better," defenseman Paul Martin said. "All the tools are there."

Orpik noted that the rush of energy Despres felt in his first couple of NHL games is gone. Now, the youngster is relying on his fundamentals and pure talent.

And he seems to be thriving.

"It's obvious that he doesn't have any fear," Martin said. "He's just going out and making things happen every game. He's been very, very good."

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