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channel4567 · Membru junior Data inscrierii: 07/Mar/2011 Mesaje: 109

Paul Holmgren spent the better part of this weekend getting the parameters of what it will take to make Ilya Bryzgalov the Flyers' goaltender for the next five or six (maybe seven or eight) years.

Bryzgalov's agent, Ritch Winter, likely began those negotiations by rattling off impressive statistics from last year, when his 30-year-old client finished third in the NHL in wins (42), second in shutouts (eight), sixth in goals-against average (2.29) and ninth in save percentage (.920).

Those numbers took a significant dip this season, when Bryzgalov finished seventh in wins (36), fourth in shutouts (seven), 16th in goals-against average (2.48) and 11th in save percentage .921.

But let's be clear: If today was July 1 [url=http://www.jonathan-toews.com]#19 Jonathan Toews Jerseys[/url], Bryzgalov would be the best goaltender available on the free-agent market and would be paid accordingly -- upward of $6 million a season -- from a team (the Washington Capitals?) that thinks it's a goaltender away from the Stanley Cup.

Winter has been around long enough to know that as long as there are two teams interested in a potential free agent, there is negotiating leverage. He also knows the Flyers gave up a third-round pick and a player (Matt Clackson) to obtain Bryzgalov's rights and, after failing to sign Evgeni Nabokov and Dan Hamhuis last summer, cannot afford to come away empty-handed after trading valuable draft picks for negotiating rights.