Some players contend that blows to the head should be banned If it were up to some of the Flyers, there would be no more checks to the head, whether they come from Scott Stevens, Bob Boughner, Darius Kasparaitis or any other NHL player. Given the number of concussions in the league and the fact that a sixth concussion may have ended the career of the Flyers' star center, Eric Lindros, perhaps the league's general managers will eliminate checks to the head. Such hits are legal when delivered with the shoulder. Flyers winger John LeClair said that Stevens, the New Jersey defenseman who hit Lindros on the chin with his shoulder in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, was head-hunting even though the hit was clean by definition. "It wasn't the dirtiest hit I have ever seen," LeClair said yesterday. "My impression of it is he went for the head, and that is when guys get hurt." LeClair said that a rule change might result in another unwanted "judgment" call by the referees, but that it might be necessary. "A lot of the concussion checks are guys going for the head," LeClair said. Stevens' hit "was a perfect example. That is the difference between hitting somebody and hurting somebody. With contact sports like hockey, I don't know where you draw the line." Flyers winger Rick Tocchet said the line had already drawn in other sports. "The NFL has a rule that if you go after the quarterback's head, you're going to get fined," Tocchet said. "The NBA, even with Reggie Miller, he slaps [Matt] Geiger and gets suspended for a playoff game. There is no tolerance in those leagues, so maybe they have to do it in the NHL." Team turmoil. LeClair and several other players said the adversity and controversy the Flyers experienced this season sometimes made for comical situations and drew the club closer. Center Keith Primeau, who sat out the first half of the season in a contract dispute with the Carolina Hurricanes, said he had no idea what he was getting into when he was traded to the Flyers. "Overall, the season was very bizarre but very enjoyable," Primeau said. "My journey, the way it started, and then to come into Team Turmoil and go through it every day firsthand, well, it was almost surreal, and you're in the middle of it. It was adventurous, to say the least." Big difference. Goalie Brian Boucher played for both the Flyers and the Phantoms this season, and he had this to say about the difference between fans at the First Union Center and the First Union Spectrum. "It's all group sales and 8,000 6-year-olds in the stands," Boucher said of Phantoms games. Free Flyers. The Flyers have two unrestricted free agents entering the off-season - Tocchet and winger Craig Berube - and interim coach Craig Ramsay praised both for their contributions this season. Berube, the 34-year-old enforcer better known as "Chief" by his teammates, scored the winning goal in Game 4 against the Devils. It was a memorable one, breaking a 1-1 tie in the third period and leading the Flyers to a 3-1 victory. Berube, who scored just four goals in 77 games this season, was one of the last players expected to score a crucial goal. "He is really a good person to have on the hockey team," Ramsay said. "He did a heck of a job for us." The Flyers acquired Tocchet from the Phoenix Coyotes in March, in a trade for winger Mikael Renberg. It paid off. "Rick Tocchet came in and gave us what we expected," Ramsay said. "He played hard. He scored some key goals and helped on the power play. "But as important, he was really good on the bench and in the dressing room. He knew what we were trying to do as a team, and he was a big part of that. He gave us everything we expected and a little more." Ramsay would not mind having the two around next season, but knows that the decision is not his. Referring to the Flyers' general manager, Ramsay said: "That's for Bobby Clarke to decide, and those are tough decisions management has to make. But these are good, solid people. I just coach who shows up, unfortunately." Long summer. Defenseman Luke Richardson will not be alone this summer. Like his teammates, he will be reliving Games 5, 6 and 7 of the Eastern Conference finals - especially Game 5, which the Flyers lost, 4-1. "That one will probably haunt us a little bit," Richardson said. "But that's the way hockey is. I think we came out a little lax. It wasn't over yet, and we knew that, but sometimes when the ball gets rolling it's tough to stop it. "Any bounce either way in Game 7 and we would be" in the Stanley Cup finals. Instead, the Flyers enter the off-season with several what-ifs. "We really like this team, but we'll have to see what happens over the summer," Richardson said. "Hopefully, we get everybody back. We've got a lot of youth and some good veterans, so it was a really good mix. I don't think you want to tamper with anything too much."