While so many detractors have theorized there are two sides to Bob Clarke -- and they aren't necessarily operating in harmony -- it should be known there are two teams behind what appears to be Clarke's latest macromanagement attack.

From a curious switch of defensemen on Dec. 6 through the grateful acceptance Friday of a Carolina salary dump in the form of Sami Kapanen, Clarke has completed 10 separate personnel transactions.

FLYERS' TRANSACTIONS SINCE DEC. 6

Dec. 6: Defenseman Dan McGillis to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Marcus Ragnarsson. Dec. 19: Forward Paul Ranheim to Phoenix for a conditional pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Jan. 1: Forward Tomi Kallio acquired via waivers from Calgary. Jan. 15: Forward Joe Sacco signed as a free agent. Jan. 22: Forward Jamie Wright acquired from Calgary in exchange for future considerations. Jan. 27: Forward Mike Siklenka signed as a free agent. Jan. 29: Forward Eric Chouinard acquired from Montreal in exchange for a second-round pick in 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Feb. 5: Defenseman Chris McAllister traded to Colorado in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Feb. 5: Forward Todd Warriner acquired from Vancouver in exchange for future considerations. Feb. 7: Pavel Brendl and Bruno St. Jacques to Carolina for Sami Kapanen and Ryan Bast.

The quick succession of moves included such luminous names of the past as Joe Sacco and Todd Warriner, who, believe it or not, have been starting forwards lately on a Flyers team still considered by many observers as a contender to rise out of the East.

So with his team in Minnesota tonight trying to avenge an empty 1-0 home loss to the Wild on Monday night, what does Clarke call his recent moves?

"Band-Aids," Clarke said with classic candor. "We're patching holes. Just trying to get through. The Phantoms were beat up, we were beat up ... we were just trying to get whoever we could get. Trying to grab some guys with experience that were cheap enough."

Welcome to the NHL of the 21st Century, where even the rich have to struggle to survive and try not to feel guilty about it.

For Clarke, such meatball roster surgery is performed for two underperforming hockey clubs, the Flyers and their AHL understudies, the Phantoms.

Injuries to top-level scorers John LeClair, Simon Gagne and Justin Williams depleted an already scoring-challenged Flyers group. Injurious drafting and too many quick fix-its in the recent past left Philadelphia's usually successful AHL operation robbed of talent.

It was time for Dr. Bob to get to work. And the popular perception is he's just now scrubbing up.

"I wish I was (done)," Clarke said shortly after shipping twice-failed prospect Pavel Brendl and minor league defenseman Bruno St. Jacques to Carolina for Kapanen and minor leaguer Ryan Bast. "But who knows what's going to be available? It's just starting now. And with the players being thrown around, I don't know. If we can upgrade we will, regardless of where it is."

Clarke barely finished talking about not necessarily being finished when the sniffing around the First Union Center press box recommenced. It was a Saturday afternoon originally intended for another extended laugh at Eric Lindros and the Rangers. Instead, it became a scouting snipe hunt.

There they were, starchly perched up high, a couple of important Los Angeles overseers named Bill O'Flaherty and Rob Laird. Respectively, they are the Kings' director of player personnel and pro scouting director. Separately, they seemed to be searching for something to make viable the ongoing trade talks with the Flyers concerning Mathieu Schneider.

A well-placed source and the presence of the two Kings (and a third Los Angeles scout at the next game) was all that was needed to break the news that the Flyers are after Schneider, the premier puck-mover they weren't allowed to fit into their budget last summer, but who now looms large to a club free of salary shackles.

Why? Because team chairman Ed Snider knows this team has to go three rounds deep to make any decent profit. That and a little thing about wanting to win.

"We could use a guy (at the point) to help our power play," said Clarke. "But I don't know if the Kings want to trade Schneider. I don't know where rumors like that even start."

Oh.

Anyway, Williams is done for the season, but LeClair (shoulder surgery in November) and Gagne (groin problems) are both expected back by the end of February. Their collective presence would allow Kapanen to go where he belongs -- to right wing, not Carolina. There, he'd pair with old 'Canes chum Keith Primeau. They both had their most productive years when playing together.

The Flyers would then have LeClair, Gagne and impressively defensive rookie Radovan Somik on left wing of the top three lines; Jeremy Roenick, Primeau and Michal Handzus as the strongest center combination in the East and Kapanen, Mark Recchi and Donald Brashear as right wing depth.

Management's claims that this is enough could be supported, except that both Handzus and Roenick are hobbling with various bumps and bruises, and no one can be sure how long it will be before either Gagne and LeClair can become effective once they do return.

So don't be surprised if those Miroslav Satan rumors continue to lurk from now until either he's dealt elsewhere or survives to the March 11 trading deadline.

Eager to escape a bankrupt Buffalo "organization" that still has no solid prospective buyer and probably wouldn't be interested in increasing Satan's $3.55 million salary this summer, Satan has essentially lobbied for a trade to Philadelphia.

But Clarke can't accommodate him, even if he certainly wants to.

"Buffalo said Satan isn't available," said Clarke. "They're trying to sell that club. They can't trade their best players."

	“	Buffalo said Satan isn't available. They're trying to sell that club. They can't trade their best players. ”
		— Bob Clarke, Flyers general manager

That aside, rumors persist that the Flyers had a deal for Satan and Alexei Zhitnik in exchange for Brendl and highly regarded defensive prospect Jeff Woywitka shot down by Buffalo's current operating boss -- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. If that would have clearly been a salary dump and not in the best interest of Buffalo's hockey fans ... exactly what was that Pittsburgh-New York swindle on Monday?

Hours after the trade of Alexei Kovalev to the Rangers was announced, Clarke went on a cable sports talk show in Philadelphia to offer his own analysis.

"The deal the Rangers made in getting Kovalev was a non-credible hockey deal, in my opinion," said Clarke. "The players that went to the Rangers were all on one-way contracts. And the ones that went back were two-way. And a lot of cash. I don't think that's good for the game of hockey. I don't actually think it's good for the game of hockey any time a lot of cash is involved."

Yes, Clarke was between his Philadelphia regimes when the Flyers sent $15 million in cash and a bevy of players (including then-prospect Peter Forsberg) to Quebec for Eric Lindros in 1992. But no, personal feelings of guilt wouldn't have prevented Clarke from sending a bundle of cash to Pittsburgh for Kovalev if he wanted.

Apparently, Clarke is content with his trade-per-week pace that keeps netting some failed top picks of the past (Warriner, young Eric Chouinard), guys that wanted to get back in the league (Sacco) or a defenseman in Marcus Ragnarsson who likely will be traded again before March 11.

Quite a band of aid, that.

In truth, all this wheeling and dealing really hasn't done a thing for the Flyers. After a feel-good Saturday in which Kapanen scored the game winner over the Rangers, the Flyers turned around and lost 1-0 to Minnesota on Monday.

That's eight shutouts suffered by the Flyers this season, their most since 1969-70. That's eight straight games in which they scored two goals or less. That's an eight-game run in which they won just twice and scored eight goals total.

Crazed by this bevy of snowmen, the Flyers think Schneider will help them both on their thin blue line and on their previously impotent power play, and they're probably right.

But just one Schneider isn't going to lift the Flyers off their scoring schneid.

Then again, a handful of Todd Warriners won't, either.

Rob Parent of the Delaware County (Pa.) Times is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.