Strange day for me over at Skate Zone.

I was sitting with Peter Laviolette when James van Riemsdyk walked into his office, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then hustled out.

Wish I had known about the contract extension - 6 years, $25.5 million_ then but didn't hear of it for another 30 minutes.

JVR would have had to wait till age 27 to be a UFA. This deal carries him past UFA by two years and that is why I believe the Flyers are giving him more $$ now than Claude Giroux. And let's remember that Grioux, who will earn $3.75 million, has another deal coming his way in two years which should see him surpass JVR in salary.

In the long run, the JVR deal will cost the Flyers less than had they waited out his contract, I feel.

The other interesting news today was Danny Briere interview with me about the captaincy. He thinks it's a bigger deal in Philly than other places and also that there is a misconception that one Flyer carries the weight of the captain.

Briere was very specific in insisting - and he's right _ that Mike Richards did not act alone in the room as the voice of the team. That himself and Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen, all have a major say in the room.

Very good, very candid quotes from Briere, too.

Here's my stories on Briere and JVR up on CSNPhilly.com:

Click Here

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