Philadelphia Flyers Sign Ilya Bryzgalov

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed Ilya Bryzgalov after trading for his rights from the Phoenix Coyotes.  The Flyers put a great deal of faith in the 30-year old goaltender after a laughable playoff ride on the goalie carousel.  Philadelphia signed Bryzgalov to a nine-year, 51 million dollar deal.  Bryzgalov’s salary will result in a 5.67 million dollar cap hit until Philly’s new goalie is 40.  It looks like Sergei Bobrovsky is done in Philadelphia, or at least his “goalie of the future” tag has been lifted.

The Flyers went through a lot of trouble to secure cap space for their new goaltender.  Jeff Carter was moved along with captain Mike Richards on the same day they signed Bryzgalov.  In return Philadelphia got the 8th pick in the first round, a second round pick in 2012, and a third rounder in 2011.  They also got Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, and prospect Brayden Schenn.

First of all, the deepest team in the league just got even deeper.  Their biggest weakness was the lack of a #1 scorer.  Danny Briere is good, but he isn’t on the same level as the game’s elite.  He’s happy though, saying that the franchise delivered a clear message that they want to win now.  Unfortunately, I don’t see how this trade helps them win now.  They got prospects, draft picks, and role players.

What it does do is prevent a more precipitous fall as their veteran players continue to age together.  The Flyers certainly didn’t get better by trading two of their best players away – but they did get younger.  The Flyers will be a good team for years to come, rather than a great team giving it one more shot at the Stanley Cup.

Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov is above-average, but by no means an elite goaltender to base your franchise around.  Apparently, the decision has been made to stray from Sergei Bobrovsky, but is Bryzgalov really the answer?  He’s had a decent playoff career before leading a dismal effort against the Red Wings this year.  He choked, looked awkward and fatigued, and stumbled through the 2011 playoffs.

Bryzgalov is 78-40 over the past two seasons with the Coyotes, with a .92 saves percentage.  He had a middling 2.48 goals-against average last year.  Sergei Bobrovsky was 28-13 with a 2.59 goals-against.  I don’t see how Bryzgalov is much of an improvement – particularly considering the ridiculous jump in salary.

Carter and Richards had been with the team since 2005 and had contracts topping 10 seasons. They were key players in Philadelphia's run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final and combined for 132 points this season.
But the team's more pressing need was goaltending, especially after it used three goaltenders in a second-round loss to the Boston Bruins. It recently acquired Bryzgalov's rights, and general manager Paul Holmgren announced he had reached terms with the former Phoenix Coyotes goaltender.

The emergence of Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk also paved the way for the Flyers to make two of the more significant trades in their recent history.

The Flyers are now tied to Bryzgalov for the next nine years and needed to part with two of their best players to accommodate his salary.  I don’t see Ilya Bryzgalov saving the Flyers franchise and guiding them to their first Stanley Cup since the 1970s.  He’s a good goalie, but he isn’t particularly great.  The Flyers will not be as good in 2012 as they were last year because of the trades they made to sign Bryzgalov.

Maybe the Flyers will do something spectacular with the money they cleared up.  Brad Richards would solidify the space left by the two players the Flyers traded away, and Steven Stamkos could become a restricted free agent on July 1st.  Right now, the team is weaker, but given their salary cap predicament I’m not sure they could have done much better.