Berard has sights set on landing job

The eye isn't much of a problem. In fact, said Bryan Berard, he barely ever thinks about it, more than eight years after the sight in his right eye was all but extinguished when he was gouged by Marian Hossa's errant stick.

"To be honest, the eye's not an issue anymore," said Berard, not long before finishing his summer workouts here in Boston and heading south with only the promise of a tryout awaiting him in Philadelphia. "It took a couple of years to get used to it, for my brain and body to adjust, but I don't even think about it now. Not an issue."

More delicate and irksome of late, though, has been Berard's back, along with other niggling injuries. In his two seasons with Columbus (2005-07), the former Mount St. Charles star needed not one but two surgeries on damaged disks, limiting him to 55 games across the two seasons with the Blue Jackets.

"I had surgery on the one disk my first year there," recalled the 31-year-old Berard. "And then when I came back, after the rehab, all the same symptoms came back. Doctors had overlooked the fact two of the disks were injured. So I needed the surgery again, and ended up missing the whole year [save for 11 games] for basically nothing."

At the invitation of Islanders general manager Garth Snow, Berard reported to Long Island last September and earned a contract to play on the back line. A couple of weeks into the season, however, a groin injury slowed Berard, forcing him out for nearly a month and, in his opinion, placing him "behind the 8-ball" with coach Ted Nolan. The former No. 1 draft pick finished with 5 goals and 22 points in 54 games.

Following the season, Nolan was given the heave-ho by the Islanders, and replaced by former Providence (AHL) coach Scott Gordon. But prior to that, the Islanders inked former Habs backliner Mark Streit to a deal that will pay $20.5 million over the next five years.

"He's the guy they will be looking to be on the power play there," said Berard, who has acquired a certain nonchalance about the decision-making that goes into roster decisions. "I figured it was time to move on."

Tom Laidlaw, the former NHL defenseman-turned-agent, shopped Berard around the league, noting that his longtime client was willing to go the "invitation only" route one more time. The Flyers, even though they now sit about $1 million over the cap figure of $56.7 million, ended up being the most interested. And for Berard, the most intriguing, because they should be among the strongest clubs in the Eastern Conference this season. If he can catch on with the Broad Street Bullies, they could be the best bet Berard has had to return the playoffs since his three-game twirl with the Bruins in 2003.

"I've got to show that I'm healthy," said Berard, who worked all summer here with local fitness trainer Nick Liatsos, "and also that I can be a top-level guy."

Not long after the gruesome injury in March 2002, when Berard was playing for Toronto, he received an insurance payout of some $6.2 million. Upon deciding to attempt a return to the NHL in September '01, he first had to work out an agreement to begin paying back the insurer that wrote the check for what was believed to be his career-ending injury.

"You hear a lot of guys say they'd pay to play the game," said Laidlaw. "Well, in Bryan's case, he did that."

According to Laidlaw, for a while it cost Berard money to play, because early on in his return, the underwriter insisted that Berard pay back in pre-taxed earnings. All these years later, said Laidlaw, Berard has returned the full sum of nearly $6.2 million. In doing so, he also has earned enough over six seasons - with the Rangers, Bruins, Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, and Islanders - to be ahead of where he stood financially upon initial receipt of the insurance payout.

"I think I'm a better player overall than I've ever been," mused Berard. "I say that because I think my defensive game is more solid, and I think that just comes with time and experience.

"I had to sit out, I got older, and that gave me time to learn the game, to know when to jump into plays, and what to do in different situations.

"My vision is good. My back's all better. I'm looking forward to giving this a try in Philly and getting on a roll."

NHL seems to be playing some two-way hockey

As the Predators awaited resolution over Alexander Radulov's bolt to join Russia's Kontinental Hockey League, word came last week that Marcus Nilson, under contract with the Flames for 2008-09 at $1 million, is attempting to hook on with the vaunted Red Army squad.

By the sound of things, the Flames won't object, since the 30-year-old Nilson really doesn't factor into their plans. If he heads to Russia, then the Flames wouldn't be on the hook for his $1 million against the cap. Coach Mike Keenan made Nilson a healthy scratch 24 times in 2007-08 and then dressed him for only two of seven playoff games vs. the Sharks.

"We were hoping to do this quietly," Nilson's agent, J.P. Barry, told the Calgary Sun. "The Flames are being good about this."

Ah, but the Flames have said nothing publicly. Why? A bit of a greasy spot here, because the NHL is arguing that Radulov has a binding deal to play with the Predators and believes the KHL must honor the player's commitment to Nashville. Well, Nilson has a binding deal to play with Calgary, but it's OK for him to go the route that the league wants to deny Radulov? Hello to the goose and the gander.

It's never quite that succinct, of course, but the league, and to some extent the Players Association, wants this to be a black-and-white issue. To wit: Players under contract must honor their deals with their respective leagues. From here, even if the Flames are OK with his "defection," it appears Nilson running off to CSKA would only introduce a troubling shade of gray to the process.

THE NUMBER

7: The jersey number Todd Bertuzzi has chosen to wear with his new club, the Flames. Why? Because, Bertuzzi told the Calgary Herald, he has always idolized former Bruin Phil Esposito, whose No. 7 resides in the Vault's rafters. Bertuzzi, who has preferred to wear No. 44 or No. 4 through much of his career, opted not to put the squeeze on Calgary defensemen Rhett Warrener (44) or Jim Vandermeer (4) to surrender their sweater.

Flex time: Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli is not actively looking for trades, but like most GMs in the salary cap era, he is always looking for relief along the bottom line. "In an ideal world," Chiarelli said, "it would be nice to have some cap flexibility, be it headed into the new season or be it at the trade deadline [at the end of February]. That's not to say it's my primary focus or motivation, but when I speak to other GMs, it's always in the back of my head." The Bruins are roughly $1 million below the cap of $56.7 million, and the deals for many of their pricier players carry no-trade clauses. Two guys with hefty "unprotected" deals are goalie Manny Fernandez ($4.33 million cap hit) and winger Peter Schaefer ($2.1 million).

Down the hatch: The Flyers are about $1 million over the cap as they begin training camp this week. No immediate problem, because clubs have until their opening game of the season to get under. Betting around Philly is that the Flyers will render aged defenseman Derian Hatcher, 36, to the "Long Term Injury" list, and thus be able to delete his full $3.5 million in salary. The slow-of-foot Hatcher struggled through last year with a bad right knee. As for the blue line pecking order without Hatcher, tryout Bryan Berard will contend with the likes of Steve Eminger, Ryan Parent, Nate Guenin, and Lasse Kukkonen for the Nos. 5-7 jobs. The top four go to Kimmo Timonen, Randy Jones, Ossi Vaananen, and Braydon Coburn.

Staal tactics: News from the front office: Hurricanes center Eric Staal signs a contract extension that will pay him an average $8.25 million through 2015-16. View from the press box: Staal was one of the comparables being used when Kent Hughes, agent for Patrice Bergeron, worked out the pivot's contract extension that will pay out an average $4.75 million through 2010-11. If Bergeron gets his game back on track this season after last year's concussion, and he remains a Staal "comp," his average wage come 2011-12 could be pressing $10 million.

A rocky picture: Cliff Fletcher continues to mind the Maple Leafs store as GM, with it now clear that Brian Burke will remain in Anaheim for the duration of the 2008-09 season. Come next summer, Burke will be able to walk as a free agent, which no doubt will begin some heated bargaining from, say, a half-dozen of the 14 clubs that don't make it to the 2008 playoffs - and even some that do make it. Meanwhile, Fletcher put the fan base on notice last week with this bit of reality: "You don't have to be a Rhodes scholar to know there's going to be rocky days ahead." Just a year ago, then-coach Paul Maurice told the assembled media, "We'll compete for the Stanley Cup."

Loose pucks: For a second year in a row, the Penguins deployed some of the rank-and-file, along with coach Michel Therrien, to hand-deliver the goods to longtime season ticket-holders. The welcoming committee included Marc-Andre Fleury, Jordan Staal, Max Talbot, Tyler Kennedy, Brooks Orpik, Sergei Gonchar, Jeff Taffe, and Pascal Dupuis . . . Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, making his way back from offseason shoulder surgery, is expected to be in most, if not all, drills once training camp opens at the end of this week. But Big Z could sit out most, if not all, of the exhibition season. "We're fine with that," said Chiarelli. "He knows his body, and he knows what he has to do to be ready." . . . With the likes of Glen Murray (bought out) and Glen Metropolit (signed as a free agent by Philadelphia) out of the equation, who will aid Chara in the Bruins' overall leadership role? "Some of that residual has to be inherited by the team, collectively," said Chiarelli. "But that's part of the reason we brought in [Stephane Yelle], because he's shown that on other teams [Colorado and Calgary]. And Patrice Bergeron, too. He's older, he's more mature, and he went through an incredible battle last year, both mentally and physically. He's focused, and you can hear that in his voice." . . . Marian Gaborik was skating with a bunch of his Wild teammates last week in anticipation of the start of training camp this week. What do you figure, maybe Thursday before we read the report of his first groin pull? . . . Ex-Ducks draft pick Mark Popovic, who played 33 games last season with Atlanta, hooked on with St. Petersburg in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League. "My first guy to do that," said agent Tom Laidlaw. "It could be a great boost for him, because he's only 25, and that's young enough that maybe he has a great year, gets his career going, and comes back to the NHL next year." Ex-Yale standout, Ray Giroux also patrols the St. Pete backline . . . Ex-Bruin goalie John Grahame headed into the weekend having played in two of Omsk Avangard's three games thus far in the KHL season . . . Around the league, the consensus is that the Maple Leafs wildly overpaid for free agent defenseman Jeff Finger, who'll earn a guaranteed $14 million over the next four years, following career totals of 94 games and 24 points. One GM said, "He was on our radar, too, for something like $750,000 a year." . . . Carolina GM Jim Rutherford, who negotiated the long-term extension for Eric Staal, noted in the news conference that the Whalers once erred in not tying up Ron Francis to a long-term contract. "They let him get away," said Rutherford, whose 'Canes began their NHL life in Hartford, "and the Whalers were never the same." Knowing they couldn't appease Francis with a new deal, the Whale on March 4, 1991, dealt him, Grant Jennings, and Ulf Samuelsson to the Penguins for John Cullen, Jeff Parker, and Zarley Zalapski. When March 4 falls on a weekday, old Whalers fans to this day often call in sick, for the rest of the month.

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com; material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.