Penguins general manager Ray Shero said last night that he will announce a resolution to the John LeClair saga today.

Most likely LeClair, 37, will retire or the Penguins will suspend him.

The veteran winger has not played since Nov. 25. He was put on waivers Nov. 30, cleared, was sent to the Penguins' minor-league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre, was put on re-entry waivers, cleared and was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre.

However, he remains in Philadelphia with his family.

"Obviously, he's not going to Wilkes-Barre, which is OK," Shero said.

Shero had not spoken to LeClair or his agent yesterday and said the day's delay in making the announcement was based on process and procedures. He said the resolution will be by mutual agreement.

No forward changes

Defenseman Rob Scuderi and winger Nils Ekman were recovered sufficiently from a nasty stomach virus to be able to play, but only Scuderi was back in the Penguins lineup against the Flyers last night.

Coach Michel Therrien didn't want to change what worked, and something definitely worked Monday, when the Penguins won at Washington, 5-4, in a shootout after falling behind, 4-0.

"We're not going to change our forwards," Therrien said. "I really liked the way our fourth line changed the game around, and I would send the wrong message if I take somebody out of that forward group.

"We're satisfied with the way that we've played lately. We've scored some goals, and we're getting involved physically. I have no right to take a [Chris] Thorburn out or a [Maxime] Talbot out or a [Jarkko] Ruutu out or a [Jordan] Staal out. Those guys did a fantastic job.

"Ekman will have to wait. He should be back [tomorrow against the New York Islanders]. I had a discussion with him [yesterday] morning. He's ready to play, but he's going to wait for [tomorrow]."

Thorburn scored the Penguins' first goal last night.

Blocking leader

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin went into last night's game leading the Penguins in most statistical categories, but defenseman Josef Melichar quietly was tops in one -- blocked shots.

"Obviously it's very important in the game because it saves a lot of trouble in our zone and for the goalie, but overall it's not a really important stat on paper," said Melichar, who had 49 blocked shots. "Sometimes you block five shots in the game and you see one on paper. You feel the five."

Shocking news

Therrien grew up in Montreal while Bob Gainey was putting together a Hall of Fame career with the Canadiens, a team he now runs as general manager.

Therrien doesn't know Gainey well but was rocked by news that Gainey's 25-year-old daughter, Laura, was swept overboard Friday while sailing in the Atlantic off Nova Scotia. Chances of finding her reportedly are growing extremely slim.

"That family went through two tragedies in the last 10 years. He lost his wife [to brain cancer in 1995] when she was 39 years old, and now we don't know what's happening with his daughter," Therrien said. "I'm speechless. I heard the news over the weekend, and I thought, wow, I can't imagine how those people feel."

Gainey turned 53 yesterday. The Penguins play Saturday at Montreal.

Cairns still out

Penguins defenseman Eric Cairns has not played since Nov. 10 and has been on injured reserve since Nov. 22 because of concussion symptoms. There's no telling when he might be cleared to practice.

"We don't know when he can come back," Therrien said. "We've got to be cautious with those types of injuries, so we'll see."