April 18, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Andreas Lilja (6) ties up Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) during the first period of game four of the 2012 Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the at Wells Fargo Center. The Penguins defeated the Flyers, 10-3. The Flyers lead the series three games to one. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Flyers re-acquired goaltender Brian Boucher from the Hurricanes last week but they have now put him on waivers, along with defenseman Andreas Lilja. They set their rosters yesterday for today’s season open game and had to make room for defenseman Andrej Meszaros who is coming off an Achilles injury.

The NHL is putting a lot of players on waivers right now due to the buyout option in the new CBA, but neither Boosh or Lilja were put on waivers due to this. GM Paul Holmgren specifically put them on waivers in order to put them down into the minors. They both cleared earlier this week and have been sent down to the Adirondack Phantoms in Glen Falls, NY.

Right now Meszaros is set to play and Holmgren is confident that his injury is healed, but if he is injured again most likely Lilja will be recalled to the Flyers. It’s less likely that Boosh will be called up, as he was acquired as an insurance policy for the goal tending situation between Michael Leighton and Ilya Bryzgalov.

The Flyers open their season today at 3 pm at the Wells Fargo Center as they take on their most heated rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Let’s go Flyers! Beat the Pens!

Mandatory Credit: Christopher Szagola-US PRESSWIRE

Well, if this trend keeps up, the Philadelphia Flyers won’t have any bodies on their blue line when the season starts.

Whenever that may be.

It was reported in Swedish newspaper Helsinborgs Dagblad that defenseman Andreas Lilja will miss four months after undergoing hip surgery.

Lilja told the paper that the pain was bearable, but not this summer, translated by Matias Strozyk.

                I’ve had problems for a couple of years but usually the pain eased over summer. Not this year, so I needed surgery.

While this isn’t exactly a huge loss for the Flyers, it certainly is one where you scratch your head. It’s more of a “you have got to be kidding me” loss. First the Orange & Black lose Andrej Meszaros for possibly the entire season, now Lilja is out for four months. This, of course, is after already having lost captain Chris Pronger and missing out on Shea Weber.

Doors open even more for young guys like Marc-Andre Bourdon (just re-signed for 2 years) and Erik Gustafsson.

However, as Flyers beat writer for CSN Philly Sarah Baicker stated, considering the season, if there is one at all, may not start until December anyway, this may not even be a loss at all.

With the status of the 2012-2013 NHL season still unclear, this may be a situation where we will have to wait and see.

One thing is clear, however. The Flyers certainly have some holes to fill defensively.

-Follow me on Twitter! @Pfeiifey

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