UPDATED: 6:15 p.m.
It could’ve been a lot worse.
Flyers general manager Ron Hextall revealed Monday the team received “good news” from doctors in regards to Jakub Voracek’s lower-body injury.
“Jake’s gonna be approximately two weeks,” Hextall said.
Voracek, who missed Saturday’s 4-2 win over Arizona and was seen wearing a walking boot after the game, will not need surgery, Hextall said, to repair a suspected left foot ailment.
Hextall, however, would not say if Voracek was hurt during a collision with Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk in the second period of Thursday's 3-2 victory over Minnesota.
“I don’t want the enemy to know," Hextall said with a grin.
NHL
Voracek returned against the Wild after getting up slowly but did finish the game without missing a shift. He did not practice with his teammates Friday after receiving a “maintenance day” and was ruled out against the Coyotes later in the day.
In 60 games this season, Voracek has recorded 10 goals and 38 assists. He ranks first on the team in helpers and second in points behind only Claude Giroux (50).
Hextall said Voracek’s injury did not have an influence on the Flyers’ decision to stand pat at the trade deadline, which passed at 3 p.m. Monday afternoon (see story).
“Probably not at all,” he said. “We’ve said this all along, if we can make ourselves better today and not hurt our future, we’re all for it. Nothing that came up made sense.”
With Voracek sidelined, Sam Gagner was moved to the right wing on the club’s second line. Sean Couturier centers that unit with Michael Raffl on the left side.
Hextall brought up Gagner’s play specifically when asked how the loss of Voracek affects the Flyers.
“We found a way to kind of band together at times this year when guys were out,” Hextall said. “We did it when G [Claude Giroux] was out and now we gotta do it with Jake out. Sam’s kinda stepped up in an offensive role and helped out. I think everybody’s gotta get add a little bit more. Guys haven’t gotten more ice time.”
What’s up with Cousins?
If you were casually browsing the AHL’s transactions page earlier Monday with all the trade deadline madness occurring, you may have been concerned to see Nick Cousins was returned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Not to worry. Cousins is here to stay.
For now, at least.
It was simply a paper transaction. Because Cousins was “loaned” to the Phantoms before 3 p.m., he remains eligible to play in AHL games this season. If the Flyers didn’t make the move, he would be disqualified from any remaining Lehigh Valley games, regular season or playoffs.
Hextall explained the team could have also sent Shayne Gostisbehere and Scott Laughton, who are also on entry-level contracts like Cousins, down and recall them immediately as well.
But that’s where it gets tricky. After the trade deadline, NHL clubs can make only four recalls.
“The four-recall rule, I’m not sure why it’s in there,” Hextall said. “I’m sure it’s got a purpose. It’s in the [collective-bargaining] agreement. There’s nothing you can do about it.
“It can help the players in terms of staying up and it can also hurt players in terms of, ‘We’re not going to recall a guy because we’ve only got four left and we’re going to save it.’ I’m not sure I like it or agree with it but it is what it is and we’ve gotta work within the rules.”
Since the Flyers brought Cousins back up for Monday’s game against the Calgary Flames, Hextall has just three recalls remaining this season. That does not include players recalled on an emergency basis.
Cousins, who has three goals and three assists in 16 games with the Flyers this season, has been centering Laughton and Matt Read over the past few games.
He was leading the Phantoms in scoring with 38 points in 38 games before being called up to the big club for a second time in 2015-16 on Feb. 5.