Gone are solid two-way forward R.J. Umberger (traded to Columbus) and locker-room leaders Jason Smith (signed with Ottawa) and Sami Kapanen (signed with a team in Finland).

In their places are relative unknowns like Glen Metropolit, Arron Asham, Steve Eminger, Ossi Vaananen and ... Simon Gagne?

"The way I look at it, I might be the free agent the Flyers signed this year," Gagne said recently. "I wasn't a big part of the team last year and I want to be a big part this season."

Concussion symptoms kept Gagne out of all but 25 games last season. Those are gone, he says, thanks to an innovative injection therapy called prolotherapy.

Gagne, 28, first heard about the procedure while watching a health segment on a Philadelphia news channel.

He contacted Dr. Scott Greenberg, who specializes in prolotherapy at Magaziner Center for Wellness and Anti-Aging in Cherry Hill, N.J.

"When I first saw Simon back in April, he had neck pain, dizziness and real bad headaches," Greenberg said. "But he also had a tilt to his pelvis and some back pain. His symptoms were very similar to whiplash."

Gagne had a series of anesthetic injections in his neck, head, shoulders, pelvis and back. Greenberg said the injections are generally made up of two anesthetics and an inflammatory agent such as dextrose or cod liver extract.

According to Greenberg, the inflammatory agent tells the body there is an area that needs repair. The body then sends white blood cells that help remove debris from the area and repair damaged tissue, tendons and ligaments.

Gagne had weekly prolotherapy treatments throughout the spring and considered returning to the lineup if the Flyers had made it to the Stanley Cup finals. He now receives treatments once a month.

"He's completely pain-free," Greenberg said. "He can now track the puck with no problems and his balance is perfect."

Gagne has also stepped up his offseason training regimen. At the advice of teammate Daniel Briere, he is working once a week with Hugo Girard, a five-time winner of Canada's Strongest Man competition. Briere began working with Girard in 2001.

Girard, who is best known for pulling an 80-ton Boeing 737 jet, stands 6-2, weighs 330 pounds and has a 62-inch chest, a 33-inch waist and 22-inch biceps.

Under Girard's direction, Gagne has hurled tires and has run 30-yard sprints while carrying bags of sand.

"It has really helped with my balance and foot quickness," Gagne said. "I'm in better shape now than before I got hurt."

That is precisely what Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren was hoping for when he met with Gagne at season's end.

"Simon's taking his conditioning a little more seriously," Holmgren said. "He's changed his diet and he has set new parameters for himself. He's pushing himself to the max."

Gagne is eager to get back on the ice to see the results of his summer therapy. A two-time 40-goal scorer, Gagne likely will return to the Flyers' top line, with Briere at center and Joffrey Lupul, Mike Knuble or rookie Claude Giroux on the right wing.

"The first few days of training camp are going to be huge for him," Holmgren said. "I'm more excited for him than I am concerned."

Hatcher's future in question

Derian Hatcher's career -- and the Flyers' ability to erase his $3.5 million salary against the salary cap -- likely will boil down to an X-ray of his right knee.

Hatcher has made it clear he would like to honor the final year of his four-year contract and play a 17th season. The Flyers, who are $1 million above the salary cap, have made it equally clear they cannot go through another season with Hatcher in and out of the lineup with knee pain.

"If Derian is healthy he can be a good player for us," Holmgren said. "I'm certainly concerned whether we'll have him or not. There are some serious issues with that knee."

Hatcher missed 40 games with right knee pain and a broken right leg. He had his right knee drained several times.

Hatcher says there is little cartilage remaining in his knee, and that has limited his ability to strengthen his right leg.

"Derian went through a lot last season, so we'll see how it goes," Holmgren said. "I know Derian wants to play. I told him repeatedly that we have to be able to rely on him and not have him in and out of the lineup."

Chuck Gormley covers the NHL for the South Jersey Courier-Post. He is a regular contributor to Sporting News.

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