Allen joined the Flyers in 1966, before the franchise's inaugural season. He was behind the bench for its inception in 1967 and won the West Division title that season. He coached the team through the 1969-70 season.

Allen became the general manager of the Flyers on Dec. 22, 1969, and held that position until May 27, 1983. During his tenure as GM, the Flyers won two Stanley Cups (1973-74 and 1974-75) and reached the finals four times.

"Keith was the first coach in the history of the Philadelphia Flyers and a man for whom I have tremendous respect," Flyers chairman Ed Snider said in a release. "In my mind, he was and always will be one of the greatest general managers in the history of hockey. He was known as 'Keith the Thief,' I never knew of a bad deal he made. This team would never have reached the level of success we have had over the past 48 years if it were not for Keith."

Allen was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992 in the Builders category. He was inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame in 1989.

"Keith Allen always found a way to bring exceptional talent to Broad Street and weave it into the fabric of a team that would succeed and endure at the highest level, because in Philadelphia, for his Flyers and their fans, no other level was acceptable," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a release.

Allen spent 13 years as a pro hockey player, including parts of two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. He was a member of the Wings' 1953-54 Stanley Cup championship team.


GAGNER ON THE CHEAP?


It was easy to dismiss at first, but a trade rumor that would put Edmonton's Sam Gagner on the Los Angeles Kings for, principally, Kyle Clifford is indeed real, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

McKenzie also had this to say on Twitter: "It's complicated because of LA's cap issues — Edmonton would have to retain salary? — and LA may have to give up another piece. Stay tuned."

Now, there are obvious variables in play here, as McKenzie said. Gagner counts $4.8 million against the salary cap for this season and the two following it, and if the Oilers retain a portion of that, they'd have to do it in all three. Doing that, you'd think, would mean a larger return for the Oilers — and certainly larger than Clifford, who's an effective-enough, bottom-six player.

Gagner, inconsistant as he may be, is more than that — and his contract isn't all that bad, particularly as the cap rises. He certainly should be enough to get Edmonton a quality asset capable of helping them where they need it, especially if it retains salary. If the Oilers trade him, they'd have a hole at second-line center with no easy option to fill it. That'd be OK if they were plugging a hole elsewhere, but if it's Clifford coming back, they wouldn't be.

Gagner would give the Kings what they need: versatility and goal-scoring ability, particularly on the power play. On Edmonton's side, Clifford is big — in other words, this is a hard one to explain, other than "it's the Oilers."

At bare minimum, it should lead to other general managers calling Craig MacTavish and offering their own versions of Kyle Clifford. Hey, we won't even make you eat salary.


BROADCASTER SUFFERS HEART ATTACK


It's been an unpleasantly weird day for the Nashville Predators; general manager David Poile was hit in the face with a puck, and TV broadcaster Pete Weber had a heart attack.

Poile will spend Thursday night in the hospital, which isn't ideal. The news is about as good as could be for Weber, though; he had a procedure on his heart and is resting comfortably in ICU. Josh Cooper of The Tennessean and Mike Russo of the Star Tribune visited Weber's room on Thursday afternoon, and he was in good spirits.

Weber thanked doctors, paramedics and nurses for coming through.

"They did everything they could to calm me. I was more scared than anything," he said. "I thank everybody for their well wishes."

Contributors: Sean Gentille and The Associated Press