Bryzgalov leaves Philly without a deal
Star free agent goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who arrived in Philadelphia on Wednesday, left town on Friday without a new contract.
Bryzgalov leaves Philly without a deal
Star free agent goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who arrived in Philadelphia on Wednesday, left town on Friday without a new contract.
Both sides negotiated - after Bryzgalov met with Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, goaltending coach Jeff Reese, general manager Paul Holmgren and team president Peter Luukko - and have agreed to pick up talks next week.
Holmgren issued this statement on Friday afternoon:
"We have spoken with Ilya and his agent Ritch Winter about many different scenarios.
"As for now, we both know each other's position and have agreed to speak again next week.
"There will be no further comment at this time."
That is to say, the Flyers have seen Bryzgalov's demands - which have been reported as lofty since the Coyotes dealt his rights to Philadelphia on June 7 - and need at least the weekend to think about how to proceed.
Bryzgalov has been reportedly seeking a 6-year deal worth close to $6 million per season, which would chew up nearly 10 percent of the Flyers' entire salary cap.
The Flyers have until July 1 to wrap up a deal with Bryzgalov before he is free to negotiate with all 28 other teams. Few teams, though, appear to be on the market for a big name goaltender.
The Flyers would have liked to had a deal signed and delivered before next Friday's Entry Draft kicks off in St. Paul, Minn., as they will need to shed salary in order to afford Bryzgalov.
The Flyers have nearly $59 million committed to players for next season and the salary cap is expected to increase from $59.4 million to around $63.5 million.
Technically, no deal between the Flyers and Bryzgalov could be inked at this point anyway, as the 2011-12 salary cap numbers have not yet been released from the NHL and the buyout window for players has yet to begin. If the Flyers wanted to sign Bryzgalov this week, a trade would have been needed to be made first in order to stay clear of the league's tagging rule.
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Hmm, trying to read this article and a super loud and unwanted advertisement started playing on my computer. I'll have to check out another Philadelphia news site for the info instead.— csugradhockey- Same here...beyond annoying. — Nicher
- This is the most annoying thing about this site. I PURPOSELY do not use the products being advertised because it is so bothersome. Most of the time I don't even know who it is anyway because the sudden jolt of audio pisses me off to the point I just mute it and move on. VERY ANNOYING! — elmersmithsucks
- Yeah keep your sound off at all times. Anyway it looks like this guy wants to much, maybe get another goalie and we don't have to get rid of half the team.— neddyflanders
- Udonis Haslem bypasses bigger payday for Miami Heat:
"I've never been a person that's been driven by money. I play this game to win." - Ilya Bryzgalov leaves without a deal because they need to shed salary first. I hope they at the very least get rid of Versteeg and Carcillo.One never seemed to fit in and the other is easily replaceable if need be.— 1upsman
- Even if they signed/agreed we would never ever know at this point. They sign him for a certain number then other teams know who/what we need to remove from our team. DUMB ARTICLE... hockeybuzz.com is way better— fman727
- fman, hockeybuzz is written by an even bigger Philly homer than this website and is 100% less accurate no kidding philly fans would like that more. — theeutmost
Tomas Vokoun says he has been contacted by the Flyers: http://philly.sbnation.com/philadelphia-flyers/2011/6/16/2228070/tomas-vokoun-says-the-flyers-free-agency
Is Luongo finished in Vancouver? http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/40849-THN-at-the-Stanley-Cup-Can-Roberto-Luongo-continue-as-a-Canuck.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=thn_daily_20110617- Crazy, I called last nights article BS and said they can't possibly sign him but all you "experts" said I was wrong. Haha, the Flyers cannot sign this guy without giving up a 40 goal scorer. Versteeg leaving would free up 4 million and would mean you have 6.4 to spend. Bryz wants 6 of that, leaving the Flyers .4 to sign four forwards needed for next year which is impossible since the legue min. is more than 500k. Flyers management is the worst!— theeutmost
- 6 years, $36M - sounds like too much. I wonder if they could structure it contingent in some way on winning a cup. For example, if after five years the Flyers still haven't won a cup, the sixth year is voided...— fizzbin
- more than likely, this deal is done in priciple. they can't announce it yet because of the tagging rule and like fman727, they can't tip their hand on what they need to get rid of, it will hurt their leverage. Anyway, every time i think i know who is going something else gets tossed out there now it's Richards, but who knows. maybe this team needs an enema. they sure stunk it up at the end of the year. i think signing bryz will be a step in the right direction. we need new blood in here— debbyt
- A deal done in principal is meaningless. If they told him they'll give him $6 mil then they are sitting at $65 million in cap hits. They still have to sign three forwards so would have to trade away 4.5 million dollars in salary so they can afford to pay three forwards leagu minimum for next year. — theeutmost
- 5 mil 5 years. If he wants more, then IMO another draft pick for nothing in return.— Italia1
- So Breezy leaves town with a case of Tastykakes and a new best bud--Jeff Reese. Did he get to fly out on Mr. Snider's private jet or did he take a bus? Is the Flyers front office doing this all for show with the eventuality being that Sergei Bobrovsky will be their goalie of the future beginning in the fall and Brian Boucher re-signs (cheap) as the backup for the next two seasons? Inquiring minds want to know.— schultz8
- You all want a top goalie but don't want to pay for him. HAHAHAHA a top goalie costs 6 million dollars people!— theeutmost
- good riddance. dont come back. When the player is only worried about $$$$$ then i want nothing to do with then because then they get complacent and content. Just resign Leino, bring back Gagne and roll forward with Bobrovsky. 7 goals in 4 games against Boston. lets get and keep some guys who can put pucks in the net.— seaonasdad
- Exit---Cart and Carc. Welcome---Bryz— Romus
Comment removed.- Could have had Tim Thomas last year, right...look how that worked out!— johnc53
- When you trade for the rights to negotiate with a player, they are going to demand a lot because they know you gave something up already. They might as well sign him because 6 million won't be much in a couple years.— ej610
- Bob is not ready to start, so unless you're willing to throw out the next few years while he (maybe) matures into an NHL-caliber goalie, you need to be realistic and get a veteran in here. Once everyone figured out all you have to do is wait a bit and shoot high on Bob he was toast.— th
- tough one, no matter what, the Flyers will have to make some compromises...question is when all is said and done, will they be an improved team and capable of winning in the playoffs...it will be exciting to watch the process...— elixmusic
- @— csugradhockey: Firefox with the AdBlock Plus add-on = pretty no ads on any webpage— max-power
- I would give up carter to get bryzgalov. we are not going to win a cup with him the way he consistently underachieves in the playoffs. I dont care how many goals he scores in the regular season its meaningless.— theeman1
Here is an easy solution to the scripts problem: If you use firefox or safari, all you need to do download 'no script' and set it up to turn off the annoying popups and java scripts. I use it all the time and I never have an issue with them. It's free too.
-- MRS— Stoudt- He will be a Flyer. Book it. What Mr.S wants...Mr.S gets.— hititwheretheyaint
- Name all the Russian goalies the have ever won the Stanley Cup? The only one I can think of is Nikolai Khabibulin, ok then, name in the last 20 yrs any european goalies that have won the cup....Niemi, Hasek...anyone else? NOT....history shows you need a Canadian or US goalie to win. It means more to them than money. Money is what drives the European goalies...they are stars in the regular season and suck in the playoffs! ie Nabokov...trade Bob and whoever else for the LA goalie tandem and we win. Hands down!— acesflyers88
- The Flyers have tried every which way but a real starting goalie the past 20+ years and it isn't working. Bite the bullet and sign him. You can't keep signing retreads and backups and expect to win a Cup. Pronger and Kimmo aren't getting any younger. You can't keep throwing those guys out there for the minutes they have the past couple years just to protect the subpar goaltending. Get a real starting goalie in their prime.— CousinEddie
- He left Philly without a deal and I hope he doesn't come back, except as the road team's goalie. No need to get this proven playoff bust. I'd rather take another chance on Emery, who's been to the Stanley Cup Finals, before going with Bryz, and I'd also like to see Bob get a legit chance in the playoffs and not get benched for one bad period.— cnova000
