Quick Hits: August 31, 2024

1) Following up on an item that I posted a couple weeks ago, it's now confirmed that the Flyers are bringing 25-year-old former San Jose Sharks goalie Eetu Makiniemi to training camp on a professional tryout arrangement. Makiniemi was a fast-rising name a couple years ago, which included a two-game NHL stint with the Sharks, but has been trying to fully regain the form he showed prior to a hip injury that cost him the second half of the 2022-23 season.

2) The KHL regular season starts in three days. If Flyers prospect Alexei Kolosov were to either ask the Flyers for a loan back to the KHL (which the Flyers are not interested in doing) or to attempt to skip out on the second year of his entry level deal (whereby the Flyers would toll the second year of his deal), he'd still need some tune-up action somewhere. The best course of action for Kolosov hasn't changed: It would be to honor his contract, spend the season with Lehigh Valley and see where it might lead over the next year.

However, the Flyers have to have a viable alternate plan in place for the Phantoms if Kolosov is not part of camp. Neither AHL/ECHL goalie Parker Gahagen nor 25-year-old Keith Petruzelli are bankable 1B options to pencil directly into a tandem at this point with veteran Cal Petersen. Makiniemi presents another option depending on how he performs in camp.

3) The Flyers posted their national TV broadcast and streaming schedule for the 2024-25 season. A total of 14 games are on national TV or being streamed. To see the full schedule, click here.

4) Hockey has been the last thing on my mind over the last day since the horrific news about Johnny Gaudreau and brother Matthew being killed by a drunk driver in Salem County, NJ, on Thursday evening. Adding even further to the tragedy is the fact that Matthew's wife, Madeline, is pregnant with a baby that is due in December. I noted that Johnny had two very young children, including a sixth-month old baby. I was remiss in not noting that Matthew played professionally for the Flyers-affiliated Reading Royals during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season (40 points in 38 games).

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