Philadelphia Flyers

ZHL GENERAL MANAGER:

craigstg@magma.ca

After entertaining offers from at least two teams for C Eric Lindros, the Flyers retained his rights by submitting an $8.5 million qualifying offer on June 30. And GM Bob Clarke took an extraordinarly conciliatory tone in announcing the move, calling Lindros "one of the top players in the game" and "an integral part of the Flyers' organization." Clarke added, "On a personal level, I greatly regret the extent to which the relationship between myself and Eric and his family has deteriorated. I intend to do whatever I can to try to move this relationship onto a better course." ... The Flyers used their first-round pick in the NHL draft, 28th overall, on RW Justin Williams. The 6-foot, 176-pound forward was a finalist for most gentlemanly player honors in the Ontario junior league while increasing his production from four goals as a rookie to 37. ... Philadelphia lost D Artem Anisimov and LW Martin Streit in the expansion draft. Anisimov was taken by the Minnesota Wild, while Streit went to the Columbus Blue Jackets. ... On June 25, the Flyers traded G John Vanbiesbrouck to the New York Islanders for a 2001 fourth-round pick. ... G Brian Boucher, LW John LeClair and D Chris Therien are among Philadelphia's restricted free agents.