The saga of free agent defenseman Justin Schultz is one of the intriguing stories of the offseason. The Philadelphia Flyers were reported to be one of the teams in the running for the 22-year-old. That was Tuesday. On Thursday, the Flyers are now said to be out of the mix for Schultz.

Darren Dreger of TSN's Hockey Insider reported this on Thursday morning:

Justin Schultz lottery is fascinating, considering teams IN and teams OUT.Told Flyers are in the "OUT" line.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 28, 2012

A report out of Detroit surfaced on Thursday morning that said Schultz, a British Columbia native, had a preference for playing closer to home on a team in Western Canada.

Whichever team ultimately signs Schultz is limited to a two-year entry level deal. He was drafted in 2008 by Anaheim, but spurned them, setting up the current situation. He has been playing college hockey at the University of Wisconsin.

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