Philly acquires Bryzgalov's rights

[Phil The Thrill]

The Phoenix Coyotes have traded the negotiation rights of goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Matt Clackson, a third-round pick in the 2012 draft, and future considerations.

The deal gives the Flyers an exclusive window to negotiate a new contract with the 30-year-old Russian before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Clackson's contract expires on June 30, meaning Phoenix has the same opportunity to discuss a deal with Clackson before he also becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Bryzgalov went 36-20-10 for the Coyotes last season in 68 games with a 2.48 goals against average and seven shutouts.

He earned $4.5 million last year in the final season of a three-year, $12.75 million deal with Phoenix.

"After several discussions with Ilya and his agent, it became very clear to us that we were not in a position to sign Ilya to a long-term contract," said Coyotes' general manager Don Maloney in a statement. "We will now focus our efforts on adding another goaltender to our roster for the upcoming season."

Bryzgalov has split his seven NHL seasons between Anaheim and Phoenix. He was drafted by the Ducks in the second round of the 2000 entry draft, and played for them until he was claimed off waivers by the Coyotes in November, 2007.

He won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007 as back-up to J-S Giguere, and was named as an NHL second team All-Star in 2009-10.

TSN

I like this move a lot for the Flyers. They haven't had a solid number one goalie in a long time, which definitely show in the playoffs. If they are able to sign him, this will be huge. I believe they will also be forced to trade a larger salary away. There have been rumours of Carle and Carter being shopped.

 

[dh1333]

If they can get him signed that will be huge for Philly but apparently he's demanding a lot of money thats why PHX traded his rights so Philly might have to really overpay for him.

 

[The Guid]

I think he was demanding more money from Phoenix because he wanted out of there.

 

[Mr.Baller]

I hated his attitude lately .. specially the comments he made about Winnipeg,when they were talking about PHO TO WIN ..
Anyway he must be asking to much money like Hamhuis got traded to the flyers and then signed with the canucks .. Same thing will happen with Ilya Bryz..

 

[germany00]

Holy shit, if he signs with Philly, look out. All Philly has been needing to be the best in the East is solid goal tending.

 

[snipezo]

Well heres to hoping he doesn't go to Russia.

 

[JKG33]

Earlier this morning, Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reported that the Flyers have the framework for a deal with Ilya Bryzgalov in place. He went on to say that Bryzgalov was “looking for a deal in the seven-year, $50-million range,” or $7.14 million earned per year. The deal wouldn’t be announced until July 1. The sound that you thought was thunder was actually my head, slamming repeatedly into a desk.


Since that news has circulated, Bryzgalov’s agent Rich Winters has denied that any deal was in place. General manager Paul Holmgren also issued a statement discrediting the information.

Holmgren: “Rumors are rumors. We are continuing to try and reach an agreement with Ilya, but it is safe to say that we are not close to achieving this.”
Tim Panaccio of CSNPhilly tweeted that he spoke with Ed Snider in Las Vegas (the NHL Awards were tonight). Snider: “We want a deal that works for everybody. We don’t have anything in place yet. It’s not done yet and it can’t be done before we get the new cap, anyway.”


It’s difficult to cut through all the conjecture and hearsay, as agents and general managers are about as trustworthy as Charles Ponzi. Kypreos didn’t actually say that the Flyers had agreed to that figure, but the information spread like a game of telephone, having now been writ into the record by many outlets.


Holmgren actually used the word “compromise” as a description for where the talks were at in a statement the other day. If I were to guess, Bryzgalov wants to be a Flyer but is allowing his agent to play chicken with Holmgren, who really has no leverage here.
If Homer doesn’t have a deal in place by July 1, he wastes a 2012 third round draft pick. Additionally, if a deal isn’t in place by the NHL Draft this Friday, he doesn’t know how much salary he needs to shed to not lose roster players for a bag of pucks and still get Bryzgalov signed. Does he move Carter for draft picks or does he not have to?


All I hope is that Homer doesn’t buckle under pressure from Snider to offer an irresponsible contract to Bryzgalov or any goaltender. I want consistency in net as much as the next Flyers fan, but not at the expense of being unable to afford quality depth in the future. It’s a double-edged sword for a team that hasn’t had a true #1 since Ron Hextall.

http://www.gcobb.com/2011/06/22/conflicting-reports-surface-about-bryzgalovs-contract-talks/

7 mil for Bryz? What a joke