The Ilya Bryzgalov Free Agency Saga

So for about the past 2 1/2 weeks, my beloved Philadelphia Flyers have had the exclusive rights to Phoenix goalie and soon to be unrestricted free-agent Ilya Bryzgalov.  He is a goalie that looks very enticing to the Flyers and their fan base, one that is deeply in need of a Stanley Cup.  As a goalie myself, I like Bryzgalov, enough so to think that he could possibly be in the top-10 of all NHL netminders.  So it seems necessary that the Flyers should pursue him and get him on their roster for the next handful of seasons, realizing that what has kept them from hoisting Lord Stanley over the years has been their lack of a consistent #1 goalie. Bryzgalov is easily capable of being that guy, one that the Flyers can constantly throw into the net every game, and give him about 60 starts a season.  Someone that can play three quarters of a season.  But, after hearing today that the Flyers are looking to give him somewhere in the ballpark of a 7 year/$50 million contract, that has got me to thinking.

Flyers main option for goaltending, Ilya Bryzgalov

Now I am one of the major optimist when it comes to signing the soon to be 31-year old Bryzgalov, seeing that he could be the answer to many Flyers' fans prayers.  I was going high and saying that you give him about 6 years/$30 million which would put Bryzgalov at the tender age of 37 when he is no longer under contract.  And grant it, that is also very pricy and very fortunate to both him and the Flyers that they can even offer him that much money because of getting lucky with the salary cap increasing to $64 million dollars for next season.  But, the Flyers still need to move some pieces around.  The hot commodity: Jeff Carter.

Don't be surprised if Jeff Carter isn't in orange and black next season

Carter's large contract would free up some room for the Flyers in the future, considering the fact that next year's offseason will be just as important as this year when they need to re-sign Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyke, Matt Carle, and Braydon Coburn.  I understand that they probably won't be able to bring all four of them back next season, but they need to try to get at least three back, seeing as how they all play a huge role in the Flyers' system during both the regular season and the playoffs.  So don't be surprised if the Flyers send away Jeff Carter come this Friday in the NHL Draft.
Carter could easily be packaged in a deal that would give the Flyers (currently with no 1st round picks thanks to the Kris Versteeg deal) a top-5 pick to draft a good, young player who they could have around for a number of years.  If they can get something inside of the top-3, then look for the Flyers to snag winger Gabriel Landeskog from the Kitchener Rangers.

If the Flyers can move into the top-5 in the NHL Draft, look for them to select Gabriel Landeskog if he is still on the board.

But, back to the Ilya Bryzgalov situation.  Yes it would be nice to have him in goal, but the Flyers need to look at everything that they are doing as a long term approach.  Long term as in starting next season when they have all of those key free agents.  They can't constantly bind themselves with big contract players that are tough to move and keep working year-to-year tight against the salary cap.  Take note at what happened with the Chicago Blackhawks.  They were in the same boat as the Flyers two seasons ago.  They had a one year window to win the cup knowing that after that year, they were going to have to move a lot of pieces.  But hey, they got the job done.  Now the Flyers need to look at that, make their moves this year and set themselves up for next year and for years down the road.
For god sakes, bring some calmness back to the City of Brotherly Love so the fans can stop panicking.  And maybe a Stanley Cup too.
And before I wrap this up, let me just say, I would hate to be Paul Holmgren and Ed Snider right now.

*Images courtesy of Google Images*