FanHouse PatrickThoresen

After the Flyers told Patrick Thoresen to "Take it or Leave it" with a final contact offer, the young Norwegian decided to head back to Europe, rather than toil in the minors and work his way up to the NHL the "traditional" way.

"I wanted a so-called one-way contract, which is to say the same salary regardless of whether I played in the NHL or a farm team," the 24-year-old Norwegian told the state radio network NRK on Tuesday. "That makes things more predictable for me and my family."

Predictable? How is life in the NHL ever predictable for a fringe player? What would stop the Flyers from trading Thoresen tomorrow? The argument is pretty weak, too, considering the Flyers' AHL franchise is in PHILADELPHIA. Oh noes!!! He might have to travel an extra five minutes if he was called up to the big club!!! If anything, the Flyers are a good organization to be a prospect in.

Thoresen is the type of prospect that needs to prove himself worthy of a one-way contract. Undrafted and once-waived lower-end prospects that have scored only 24 points in 106 career NHL games certainly aren't necessarily entitled to a one-way deal.

It certainly doesn't speak highly to his level of commitment that he'll run back to Europe simply because he isn't spoiled with a contract that he hasn't earned yet. It's not as if the Flyers can't find a dime-a-dozen replacement for cheap.

The unfortunate man you see in the photo here is Patrick Thoresen of the Philadelphia Flyers. If you're not a fan of the Flyers, you could be forgiven for not knowing who he is.

Trust me when I say that the Washington Capitals got to know him well in Game One of their Eastern Conference Playoff series. For better than two periods, Thoresen was a beast on the forecheck and fearless in the defensive zone, never more than in the third period when he threw himself in front of a Mike Green slap shot.

It was a selfless decision, and one that Thoresen paid for. The puck hit Thoresen in the groin, and he dropped to the ice in obvious pain. From where I sat, it seemed as if he had been hit in the rib cage. It wasn't until after the game that we heard from the Flyers that Thoresen was headed to Washington Hospital Center, with the team fearing that the young player might have to have a testicle removed.

Thankfully, that didn't come to pass, and in fact, Thoresen is in the lineup tonight for Game Three of the series against Washington. Over at Covered in Oil, they're having a discussion on just how hard that puck must have hit him.

Somehow, I'm not sure I want to think about it.

Wow, we had many to choose from last night, including a heavyweight bout between Derek Boogard and Zack Stortini, but if I had to pick the best tussle from Tuesday night, it was Patrick Thoresen vs. Branko Radivojevic in Minnesota:



As always, stop by Hockey Fights.com for more.