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The Coyotes ownership situation strikes again as the team is unable to come to terms with star goalkeeper Ilya Bryzgalov and is forced to trade him for pennies on the dollar.
While many were locked in on the Stanley Cup Finals, most notably the fate of Aaron Rome after his completely illegal hit on Boston's Nathan Horton, the NHL's most embattled club made major waves in the headlines, and for once, it didn't relate to the threat of relocation.
Unfortunately for the Coyotes and their fans, the one time they did get in the headlines for the actual team on the ice, it related to the departure of star goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.
The trade made major waves in the NHL, with the Coyotes dealing the rights to Bryzgalov, a restricted free agent, to the Philadelphia Flyers for some future considerations, a draft pick, and prospect Matt Clackson. It's definitely a major blow to the Coyotes, but is it actually as terrible as it seems? Find out what happens, after the jump.
The Phoenix Coyotes announced Tuesday that they traded the negotiating rights for Ilya Bryzgalov to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Philadelphia's 3rd round choice in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, future considerations and forward Matt Clackson (whose contract will expire June 30, 2011). Bryzgalov becomes a free agent on July 1, 2011.
The trade comes just days after the team signed backup goaltender Jason LaBarbera to a two-year contract. LaBarbera could get a chance to win the starting job next season depending on other moves the team makes.
Russian Bryzgalov is rumored to be seeking a eight to ten year deal worth over $80 million. It's a price that obviously was too steep to pay for a team that is still without an owner. It would be extremely difficult for the other NHL owners who currently control the Coyotes to approve that kind of obligation.
"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," said Coyotes GM Don Maloney in a statement. "We will now focus our efforts on adding another goaltender to our roster for the upcoming season."
Bryzgalov led the Coyotes to the playoffs the past two years but his performance against the Detroit Red Wings were anything but stellar.
Fan Reaction To Bryzgalov Trade
While fans are certainly not happy to see Bryz go, I don't think it's a shock to anyone that a deal couldn't get done. Ilya has played his butt off here and took a fairly low deal last time around in order to prove himself worthy of a bigger deal. He did that as a Vezina Award candidate last season and putting up solid numbers in this one. If there's one thing we know about the guy it's that he wants certainty for his family and with the ownership still not completed, a long term big dollar deal wasn't going to happen...
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Jun 08 7:30a by Seth Pollack