When last we heard anything about Ilya Bryzgalov he was being paid to leave the city of Brotherly Love as the Philadelphia Flyers were buying themselves out of his disastrous tenure in eastern Pennsylvania. There has never been any doubt about the talent and skill set of the Russian goaltender, but his mental constitution has been the subject of much debate.
With all of the teams that needed goaltending it was not a matter of when but where Bryzgalov would sign this summer. However, as the rosters began to fill, Bryz remained unsigned. Florida even dusted off Tim Thomas and his wooden hip to compete for the south Florida goaltending gig.
The season kicked off in October and the philosophical Russian remained a free agent. There were whispers here and there, but nothing ever stuck to the rumor mill. Teams that needed goaltending were willing to wait on their current players to sharpen their skills or dip into their minor league resources rather than give the former Flyer a shot.
As some of the potential suitors continued to sink in the standings, it became obvious where the deficiencies in the rosters were. With Dallas Eakins tired of his goaltending carousel, Bryzgalov finally got the call from the struggling Edmonton Oilers. With the Oilers surrendering a league-worst 70 goals, bringing in Bryzgalov has to be better than the current situation.
The question at this point is can the Oiler’s season be saved? As the proud owners of the last spot in the Western Conference, Edmonton has some company with Winnipeg and Calgary nearby in the points department.
The Oilers have a ton of talent, but there seems to be some kind of disconnect that prevents Edmonton from putting wins on the board.
The expectation was that this would be the year that the Oilers would finally turn their stockpile of number one draft picks into a successful playoff campaign.
A new coach in Eakins seemed like the perfect fit to help the youngster’s transition from potential to contender. There were no splashy free agent signings, but key players that were picked to bring balance and leadership to the locker room and the lineup.
A single shootout victory in Edmonton’s first eight games was not the start that anyone envisioned. A record of 3-5-2 hardly inspires confidence in anyone associated with the club that they are turning a corner or headed in the right direction. The inability to keep pucks out of their net combined with the surprising lack of goal scoring is a deadly combination that could send the season down the toilet.
To determine if Ilya Bryzgalov can change the fortunes of a last place team, we’ll need to examine what went wrong in Philadelphia. The Flyers brought him in from Phoenix in a blockbuster free agent contract that was designed to solve the perpetual goaltending issues. In a sports crazy town that is known for turning on their own team, nothing short of a Stanley Cup could have made the Bryzgalov tenure in Philly a success.
His two years on the club were not consistent with the stats that he had posted in the less intense Phoenix and Anaheim markets.
His win totals (52-33-10), save percentage (.906) and GAA (2.64) didn’t stray far from his career totals but given the excessive contract, (nine years for $51 million) much more was expected from him.
So what does a 33-year old cast off goaltender have to prove by signing with hockey crazy Edmonton? The answer is simple.
Everything.
If Bryz does nothing more than win 35% of the games he starts, that will be an improvement over what Edmonton was doing. He signed a one-year deal, which is a safe move for both club and player. Bryzgalov was thrown out of Philly like a dirty diaper and probably has a pretty sizable chip on his shoulder to play for his next free agent contract next summer.
Devan Dubnyk looked like he might be ready to take over as the franchise goaltender last spring, but a terrible start has proven otherwise. A seasoned veteran like Bryz in front of him could take some pressure off of the 27-year old or make him expendable.
The Oilers are rumored to be active in trade talks with Nail Yakupov rumored to be headed to Buffalo or the New York Rangers in separate deals. With a yard sale presumably inevitable in Edmonton, I think it’s safe to say that Bryzgalov can’t make the Oilers a playoff team at this point. However, he absolutely makes them more interesting.