James van Riemsdyk

As 3 p.m. came and went, so too went with it the Philadelphia Flyers last opportunity to improve their team.

With the NHL trade deadline expiring Monday afternoon, the players currently on the Flyers roster were able to breath a sigh of relief for the first time in weeks.

Despite speculation as to the team’s interest in adding a depth forward, in addition to other surprising areas of possible interest, the organization decided to stand pat with their current roster.

It has been reported by several credible sources that teams have been inquiring about van Rimesdyk’s availability. Through all of it, general manager Paul Holmgren and the Flyers have expressed that they are not interested in moving the forward.

However, that is something the organization has said before and it’s not out of the question that they have a change of heart with the right deal.

“If [being traded] has to happen, whatever, it’s part of the game,” van Riemsdyk said on Saturday. “I’m just focused on what’s going on now and that’s helping the Flyers win games.”

While it’s unclear as to what the team is going to do, what is clear is that van Riemsdyk’s stock is probably as high as it could possibly be coming off a concussion.

The trade winds are blowing all over the NHL and its pipelines. Twitter is ablaze with rumors, Facebook is full of propositions, and everyone is on pins and needles.

It’s what makes the NHL trade deadline among the most frantic and fun days of the sports year. Every team has problems and every follower of the team knows exactly what the cure will be for their woes.

When the trade finally goes down, many will ooh and aah over the new shiny toy in the home sweater.

In Philadelphia, it’s a little bit different.

The beast that is the media climate of the City of Brotherly Love seems to remain at a fever pitch. If it’s not about what right-handed bat the Phillies should acquire, it’s about what the Eagles should do with their disgruntled wide receiver.

It goes on and on and it never stops.

Before the season started, people doubted whether or not Zac Rinaldo would make the 23-man roster.

Now, Rinaldo has earned his way onto the third line.

Though it may be temporary, Rinaldo made a huge impact in Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Predators playing on the third line and it may have been the game that gives the 21-year-old a true crack at more ice time.

Before Thursday’s game, Rinaldo was averaging a little over six minutes of ice time, was a minus-7 and had only four points. But in that game, Rinaldo eclipsed the 10-minute mark for only the third time all season in his 36 games, skating a season hight 11:11.