FLYERS LOSE METROPOLIT TO CANADIENS, VAANANEN TO CANUCKS

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In anticipation of Daniel Briere's return, the Philadelphia Flyers have cleared some cap space via the waiver wire.

On Friday the Montreal Canadiens claimed forward Glen Metropolit off of waivers from the Flyers, while the Vancouver Canucks also claimed defenceman Ossi Vaananen.

Ironically the Metropolit could face his former team tonight when the Flyers host the Canadiens, however Habs' head coach Guy Carbonneau was unsure if the Toronto native would play.

Although Philadelphia was able to clear some space, Briere most likely will not face the Canadiens thanks to a flu bug that has sidelined All-Star defenceman Kimmo Timonen.

With Timonen unable to go tonight against Montreal, the Flyers were unable to further clear cap space by sending fellow blue liner Lasse Kukkonen to the AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms. Instead of facing the Canadiens with only five healthy defencmen, the Flyers will likely give Briere an extra day to recover.

In 55 games this season, the 34-year old Metropolit has five goals and 10 assists, while the 28-year old Vaananen has a goal and nine assists in 46 games this season. This will be the journeyman Metropolit's fifth NHL team in the last three years. He is earning $1 million this season and is under contract for the same amount next year while Vaananen becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.

This is the Canadiens second roster move in as many days as the team acquired defenceman Doug Janik in exchange for forward Steve Begin on Thursday.

"Glen is a seasoned veteran who played very well against us in last year's playoffs against the Bruins," said Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey. "We are very pleased to have him on our roster."

There are likely more moves on the horizon for the Habs as defenceman Mathieu Dandenault has also requested a trade, general manager Bob Gainey has reportedly said that he will try to move Dandenault before the NHL's trade deadline on March 4th.