Flyers Acquire Bryzgalov

Flyers Acquire The Rights To Ilya Bryzgalov
Press Release

To Flyers:
Ilya Bryzgalov








To Coyotes:
Matt Clackson
2012 3rd round pick (Flyers)
Conditional Draft Pick




Review:
This deal was a surprise to me as I was expecting the Coyotes to really try and bang out an extension until the absolute last second. The fact that they gave up this early indicates to me that they had to have been extremely far apart on what both sides were hoping to get. Bryzgalov was the back-bone of the Coyotes organization and its very interesting they would let him go easily. Apparently, there are rumors going around that he was asking for a huge amount of money and years and was very hesitant to budge in negotiations. The latest figure thats been circulating is $49 Million over 7 years which is $7 Million per year. For a goaltender, its over the top to say the least. Despite his big demands, there is no denying that he is one of the best goaltenders in the world. The Flyers have had trouble in net for at least a decade and if they are able to come to an agreement, it will solve that issue finally. The Flyers right now have only $430,845 in cap space so they will have to move out some cap if they would like to get him under contract. The conditional pick depends on if the Flyers end up keeping him, if not they will not lose anything more than the 3rd in 12' and Clackson. If the Coyotes were guaranteed to lose Bryzgalov, it was decent asset management to trade his rights for a 3rd round draft pick. Clackson's involvement mainly is due to the fact that the Flyers have the most players under contract in the NHL and right now they are just trying to create some more flexibility. Clackson's contract expires this July 1st, so it will be interesting to see if the Coyotes will re-sign him. I actually do like this deal for both sides.