Sam’s Daily: Flyers trying to fix PP; Bobby Ryan apologizes after relapse

The Philadelphia  Flyers hired an assistant coach, Rocky “Yo, Adrian” Thompson, who will try to revive their power play. Bobby Ryan issued a heartfelt apology for being publicly intoxicated at a Nashville airport. Cale Makar, who led Colorado to the Stanley Cup, was even better than we thought when you analyze some of his less-publicized playoff numbers.

Happy reading!

Philly Hockey Now: Can Thompson, who was a tough guy when he played, straighten out an anemic power play that clicked at 12.6 percent last season, the second-worst mark in franchise history?

Well, he at least has a new guy, Tony DeAngelo, to quarterback the first power-play unit. He’s going to need young players like Owen Tippett, Noah Cates, and Wade Allison to step up their games if they get PP time. Having Sean Couturier back should also help.

So who is Rocky Thompson? My story is here.

NHL news, rumors, and National Hockey Now

Detroit Hockey Now: Bobby Ryan, the Cherry Hill native who played for Anaheim, Ottawa and Detroit, offered an apology for being publicly intoxicated at Nashville International Airport. Bob Duff has the story on Ryan’s heartfelt response. 

Ryan, 35, had 261 goals in his career, and he won the Masterton Trophy in 2020  after publicly sharing his experience with alcohol abuse.

Boston Hockey Now: The Bruins are one of the teams being linked to free-agent center Nazem Kadri. But finding enough cap space is another matter, writes Jimmy Murphy. See, the Philadelphia Flyers aren’t the only team with cap issues.

Colorado Hockey Now: Adrian Dater has an interesting story on Avs defenseman Cale Makar — yeah, the Flyers could have drafted him — and how his electric playoff performance was even more spectacular when you look at underlying numbers.

Washington Hockey Now: Alex Ovechkin, who is 115 goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 tallies (take the over), talked about his return to Russia. Sammi Silber has the story.

San Jose Hockey Now: Patrick Marleau is a history maker. He will become the first San Jose Sharks player to have his number retired. Marleau, one of 46 players to have scored more than 500 career goals, will have his No. 12 raised to the rafters before the Feb. 25 game against Chicago.

Marleau sounded overwhelmed by the news, calling it the “honor of a lifetime,” reports Sheng Peng.

By the way, according to puckpedia, Marleau made about $102 million during his sensational career. That would buy a lot of cheesesteaks for John Tortorella.

New York Rangers: The Blueshirts signed underachieving Kaapo Kakko to a two-year contract that carries an annual $2.1 million cap hit. In 43 games last season, he had seven goals and 18 points.

Kakko, 21, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft, was the Rangers’ last remaining restricted free agent..

Flyers podcast: Odd Summer Injuries, Promising ’23 Draft, and More

Flyers Podcast: Odd Summer Injuries, Promising Youth, the ’23 Draft, and More