Flyers finalize roster, add Hal Gill—puck drops on Wednesday

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The Flyers had some hoops to jump through, but they managed to slip below the NHL salary cap just in time for Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline. With that hurdle cleared, the front office went back to work on adding the final pieces of the puzzle that is the club’s 23-man roster.

They wasted no time in placing Chris Pronger on long-term injured reserve as anticipated, freeing up the space to make some final moves ahead of their first scheduled game. With the cap successfully circumvented, the Flyers recalled Adam Hall from Adirondack, where the fourth-line winger was loaned until all the financial stuff could blow over.

The big news however was the official welcoming of defenseman Hal Gill to Philadelphia. Gill was with the squad during training camp on a tryout basis, and now is set to begin his 16th season in the NHL donning the Orange & Black for the first time.

Gill has always been purely a stay-at-home defender, but still a decent one considering he's 38 years of age. He should only further bolster a group of bluelines that's healthy and looks improved over last season’s unit.

Unlike Hall, Bruno Gervais was not recalled after his salary was dumped to the minors. He will remain with the Phantoms until further notice.

The other roster move of note was 19-year-old Scott Laughton making the team—for now anyway. Once again, the Flyers will have nine games to evaluate the 2012 first-round pick, after which his NHL contract will kick in. If he’s demoted before then, he’ll keep his junior eligibility.

It seems the plan is to have Laughton skate as a third-line wing, a job there was an ongoing battle over at camp. Chris VandeVelde and Michael Raffl were the primary competition, and both are currently stationed at Adirondack, so another move might be on the horizon eventually.

Here’s a look at the full roster as it stands now. How would you construct the lines?

Forwards (13):
Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux, Adam Hall, Scott Hartnell, Scott Laughton, Vincent Lecavalier, Matt Read, Zac Rinaldo, Jay Rosehill, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Maxine Talbot, Kakub Voracek

Defensemen (8):
Braydon Coburn, Nicklas Grossmann, Hal Gill, Erik Gustafsson, Andrej Meszaros, Luke Schenn, Mark Streit, Kimmo Timonen

Goalies (2):
Ray Emery, Steve Mason

The 2013-14 NHL season begins tonight in a handful of arenas across North America, followed by a few more on Wednesday—the Wells Fargo Center included. By Thursday evening, hockey season will be in full effect.

>> Flyers sign Hal Gill to one-year deal [CSN]

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