The Flyers look poised toe upgrade goaltender with one of the best netminders available.
The Phoenix Coyotes traded the negotiating rights of free agent goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to the Flyers Tuesday for forward Matt Clackson, a third-round draft pick in 2012 and future considerations.
The Coyotes had made Bryzgalov and defenseman Keith Yandle, a restricted free agent, their top priorities this offseason.
An NHL official who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information says negotiations with the 30-year-old goalie broke down because the Russian goalie wanted to not only be a top-paid goalie in the NHL, but one of the top-paid players.
"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," Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said in a
statement.
Bryzgalov went 36-20-10 with a 2.48 goals-against average and seven shutouts, but had some shaky moments as the Coyotes were swept from the playoffs by Detroit.
So will the Fly Guys have enough to sign the top-notch netminder?
Sports
In partnership with NBC Sports Philadelphia
"We'll see what we can do," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. "He's certainly not an old goaltender. We feel like he's got a lot of good years left in him. We'll see how it goes. When you get into a negotiation like this, you're dealing with a salary cap and you try and get a number you can live with."
Sergei Bobrovsky has been considered Philadelphia's goalie of the future and Holmgren said he wasn't sure if that would change if the team signs Bryzgalov.
"We'll see if we can get a deal done with Ilya," he said. "I still think the world of Sergei. I think he's one of the top young goalies in the game. We'll continue to try and make our team better. With the position we put ourselves in with Ilya, if we can get him signed it will make our team better."
Fan, follow and download: Get the latest from NBCPhiladelphia.com anytime, anywhere. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and NBC Philadelphia. Sign up for our sports newsletter. And, get breaking news delivered right to your mobile phone -- just text PHIBREAKING to 639710 to sign up. (Message and data rates may apply.)
