TSN.ca reports this morning the Anaheim Ducks have placed goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov on waivers.
It's a curious move by Ducks general manager Brian Burke, who this summer suggested he'd eventually trade Bryzgalov after locking up starter J.S. Giguere to a long-term contract and signing Jonas Hiller.
Burke was believed shopping Bryzgalov, who earns an affordable $1.363 million contract and is eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer, to several teams. He'd recently bemoaned the fact that many clubs were unwilling to make trades due to cap constraints.
For Burke to do this now suggests he needs to move Bryzgalov in a hurry, perhaps to free up cap space for another player. This could mean either Scott Niedermayer or Teemu Selanne are returning to the team or Burke has another deal in the works.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins have been oft-mentioned as needing a goaltending upgrade, so it remains to be seen which team, if any, claims Bryzgalov.
**UPDATE** As per the Orange County Register (Thanks, "Toaster"), Burke claims he's making this move both to give Bryzgalov playing time and to bring in Hiller as Giguere's backup. The deadline for claiming him is 9 AM PT Saturday (Noon eastern). Bryzgalov has about 900,000.00 remaining on his contract.
What's also interesting is the article's claim (likely based on Burke's comments) that Bryzgalov's trade value is low due to his unrestricted free agent status next summer and "a lack of goaltending need around the league".
Those are puzzling statements, as a player's UFA status generally has little bearing on his trade value, plus there are at least two teams - Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay - who obviously could use an experienced, talented netminder like Bryzgalov.
Perhaps Burke's asking price was too steep for those teams needing a netminder, or they're limited by cap constraints at this time. Bear in mind both the Penguins and Lightning have a lower, self-imposed cap ceiling, plus the Bolts are in the process of being sold.
**UPDATE** Here's a thought, folks, and I'm sure more than a few of you have considered it, but it wouldn't be surprising if Bryzgalov goes unclaimed.
That way, he'd have to report to the minors, and perhaps teams that are interested in him might be hoping Burke places him on re-entry waivers, whereby whoever claims him gets him for only half his remaining salary, leaving the Ducks on the hook for the rest.
Maybe I'm premature in stating this but thus far there hasn't been a peep or hint as to whether or not someone's gonna claim him.
**UPDATED:SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17TH** Bryzgalov's fate will be determined by noon ET today. Various reports suggest the Phoenix Coyotes could claim him, as does Anaheim GM Brian Burke. His agent expects Bryzgalov to be claimed today.
**UPDATE** The Phoenix Coyotes as anticipated claimed Byrzgalov off waivers today.
No word yet as to whether Alex Auld or Mikael Tellqvist will be demoted, although it's likely to be Auld as he's on a two-way contract which'll pay him over $100K in the minors, and Tellqvist has the better record of the two.
Bryzgalov could provide the steady netminding the Coyotes have lacked since Nikolai Khabibulin last tended goal for them several years ago. His presence could go a long way in their rebuilding process, but they'll have to pony up significant coin to keep him in Phoenix as he's eligible for UFA status next summer.
Depending on his performance this season Bryzgalov could be in position to command between $3-$4 million per season from the Coyotes, and if he doesn't get that from them he'll definitely receive it on the UFA market in July.
Still, when Burke attempted to sign him to a contract extension to enhance his trade value Bryzgalov told him he'd prefer instead to negotiate with his new team, so that's a good sign for the Coyotes heading into potential contract talks with him.
Considering the Oilers, Phoenix, and Washington are all having goaltending issues, and are lower in the standings than Tampa or Pittsburgh, could one of those teams pick Ilya up off waivers? Does waiver priority simply work by points in the standings?
I was shocked by this, and also shocked that Burke couldnt move Bryz...all we hear about is how badly teams need goaltending, though his coming UFA status likely played a role. There's rumors floating around that Burke did this to free up cap space for the return of Niedermayer, though that doesnt make sense seeing that Hiller's salary is nearly equivalent to Bryz's.
So who gets first dibs? The lowest ranked teams? Who's gonna bite? Should be an interesting day...
I thought Anaheim had to leave space for Niedermayer during his "suspension". Wouldn't this move by Burke almost add fuel to the rumors of a return of Selanne instead?
This is a rather surprising move, I cant beleive Burke couldnt have even gotten a mid round pick for him. I agree with Spector that it seems to be a quick cap clearing move to allow for Niedermeyer or Teemu coming back, or even a trade to bring in a substantial asset.
Oilersrock and Toaster,
yes, it is based solely on league standing, so the team with the worst record who puts a claim in will receive the player on waivers.
I dont think the Pens will take him though. Fleury might be erratic, but he's only 22 and Sabourin has played good as a back up this year. Getting a goalie would probably shatter both their confidences and I dont see Shero doing that.
Teams have until noon the next day to claim a player, so we wont hear anything until probably after 1:00 tomorrow.
Last edited by 2ManAdvantage on November 16th at 10:23 AM.
So clearly, I'm an Oilers fan, and I'm interested in this because of the play of Roli lately. One thing I'm wondering is, since we've played 19 games, and have 15 points, but Buffalo's only played 17 games with 13 points - do they get priority? My thinking is that we're still statistically a worse team - because they've got two games in hand - you know how it works with playoffs. Does that get taken into account at all? Also, what is the time frame teams have to put a request on him? Does he stay on waivers for 12 hours, and then they look at all the resquests and then the lowest team gets him? Or is it longer?
From what I can tell (correct me if I'm wrong), only Buffalo and Washington would have a higher waiver priority than the Oilers. Phoenix is actually doing a bit better than the Oilers statistically, because they have two games in hand.
Hopefully the Oilers move on this to see if they can pick him up....
The waiver deadline is 24 hours, so teams have until Noon ET / 9:00 am PT on Saturday to put in a claim.
As to which team gets priority if multiple clubs put in a claim, Section 13.19 of the CBA reads as follows:
"13.19 - If only one Club makes a claim for the Player on whom Waivers have been requested, such Player shall be transferred to that Club. In the event that more than one Club makes a claim for such Player, he shall be transferred to the claiming Club having earned the lowest percentage of possible points in the League standing at the time of the request for Waivers or, if Waivers are requested outside the playing season, then to the Club having earned the lowest percentage of possible points in the preceding season's schedule of Regular Season Games. If the successful Waiver claim is made before November 1st then the priority shall be determined by the final standing in the League's Regular Season schedule in the preceding season."
In short, Washington and Buffalo have 13 points, Phoenix has 14 points and Edmonton has 15 points. But based on winning percentage, due to the differences in games played, the waiver priority order is Washingon (0.361), Buffalo (0.382), Edmonton (0.395) and then Phoenix (0.412).
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on November 16th at 11:03 AM.
I dont see Buffalo making a claim as they wont want anyone to really supplant Miller and have Thibault under contract also. Washington management seems to be happy with Brent Johnson as the backup, so I dont see them making a claim for him. I can see the Oilers taking him between the play and age of Roloson, so I am expecting him to go there. Phoenix may take a chance on him, but Telqvist has been playing well.
I also wouldnt be surprised if maybe a team claimed him then dealt him to a team like LA, as Burke may not have wanted to deal within his division.
I'd like to see Washington take a pass, but I think there is a chance they'll take him. Kolzig is aging, and Bryzgalov would be more than capable of sharing the load this year and taking over when Kolzig calls it quits.
Last edited by CanuckBacon on November 16th at 10:53 AM.
One more key point: Under the current CBA you are restricted from having more than 50 players under contract at anyone time.
Washington has just 48 players currently under contract while Buffalo has only 35 players under contract. The Oilers have 50 players under contract.
So Washington or Buffalo could submit a claim with no impact on the "contract cap". Conversely, in order for the Oilers to put in a claim, they will have to trade / waive / release one of their existing contracted players.
For more information on these team contracts, go to www.nhlscap.com.
2ManAdvantage:
Forget about a club flipping Bryzgalov. Under Section 13.20(b) of the CBA, you cannot trade a waiver claimed player until after the playoffs without offering him on waivers to any clubs that previously made a claim.
So if Edmonton and Phoenix are the only two teams to put in claims, Edmonton gets him due to their lower winning percentage. But if Edmonton wants to move Bryzgalov later this season, they would have to offer him on waivers to Phoenix first.
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on November 16th at 11:02 AM.
Humm...The day before San Jose played Dallas this week, Doug Armstrong got fired, and now the day before the Sharks and the Ducks battle Bryzgalov gets put on waivers...It must be the curse of the Teal (just kidding).
What a suprise move. I am guessing Burke has not even picked up any calls from Kevin Lowe since the Penner incident, and Pittsburgh and Tampa probably won't give up on any of their top prospects.
Wouldn't it be interesting if Ilya ends up on a Pacific Division team?
You were right Mr. Spector, its getting interesting in hockey deal making arena.
From a practical standpoint, I'd be surprised if the Oilers put in a claim on Bryzgalov.
Setting aside the thorny salary cap and contract cap issues, making the claim would give them three goalies at the NHL level -- Bryzgalov, Garon and Roloson -- with no option of farming any of them.
As discussed above, they cannot trade Bryzgalov without resubmitting him to waivers (unless they are the only team that makes a claim), so there's no value picking him up unless they intend to play him. There's no trade market for Roloson at the moment (particularly if teams are willing to pass on Bryzgalov and moreso if the Oilers have a logjam in net), and with Garon's strong play you don't want to be moving him unless you think Bryzgalov is an upgrade.
But more to the point, Bryzgalov is a free agent at the end of this season, while the Oilers have Roloson and Garon both under contract for two more years, and a couple of promising kids in the pipeline.
Unless the Oilers could get a handshake agreement contract extension with Bryzgalov (teams can talk to players while on waivers) and were willing to ship off Roloson for little return, I don't see this move being made.
I had to re-confirm my memory before posting this: Hiller's cap hit is $3.2 million versus Bryzgalov's cap hit of just $1.18 million.
Yes, that's right: bringing Hiller into the line-up costs Anaheim MORE MONEY; it makes Anaheim's cap situation about $2 million worse (with the 20 days that Hiller's already been on the roster and then the remainder of the season).
So this isn't a salary savings move, quite the contrary. Clearly the Ducks are bailing on Bryzgalov and figure Hiller is the solution in net.
Great work on the details. And you are absolutely correct in that this is NOT a salary dump. Hillier is a 3.2M hit versus a 1.81M hit in Bryzgalov.
What is Burke up to now? If Giguere gets injured, they have an untested, costly rookie in net. Seems like an odd gamble to me, no? I'm baffled as to what Burke's motivations are here outside of the altruism stated in the Orange County Register article.
Oilersrock:
The Oilers do not have goaltending issues. Nor do the Capitals. They are having defence issues. The Caps will pass as they are confident in Kolzig and Johnson. Remember: Bryzgalov is an UFA this year, so the notion that he'll replace Kolzig is unfounded. This is a 3/4 of a year rental. The Sabres will pass for the same reasons. Edmonton, while Lowe clearly has a thing for poaching Anaheim players, will likely pass as well as there is nothing wrong with Roloson and Garon.
Phoenix has a need and space and so does Los Angeles. He will likely end up in either location. Should they pass, one can assume that Toronto, Colorado, Nashville, Pittsburgh and Tampa may be in play.
Last edited by HermanZeGerman on November 16th at 1:24 PM.
Hiller's actual salary is $850K, but he has a $2.35 million signing bonus. As long as Niedermayer doesn't return, Burke's got the cap space to do this.
Hillier signed a one year deal with a base of 850K and the rest was a signing bonus as you mentioned, bringing the total value up to 3.2M. Doesn't the entire amount count against the cap? Therefore, this is a more costly move, correct?
Last edited by HermanZeGerman on November 16th at 1:25 PM.
I don't know. The season that Roli has been having is pretty terrible. Garon has vastly outplayed him. I was at last night's game, and Roli did not look good. I don't know what the stats are, but the number of times he has let in a first period goal - in the first 10 minutes of the period - has got to be over 50% of his games. I loved Roli during the playoffs, and I believe last season was a write off for him because of the injuries, but Garon has played with same D-men this year, and has done much better - save that one start against vancouver.
I don't think Ilya would be the solution - I think playing Garon more is the solution - espeically since, as Matt pointed out, there's no market for Roli, and we couldn't flip Ilya without offering him to Phoenix first - unless Phoenix doesn't make a claim on him, then we'd be free to trade him, correct?
I don't know. When Florida put Huselius on waivers a few years back, I was telling everybody that we had to pick him up. When Calgary did, I was so pissed. I don't want the same thing to happen this time...
Great job to all for contributing all of the above details. After reading all of your posts I have to admit that Burke's actions have gone from odd to bizarre.
No matter how much BB is campaigning for the "Nice GM of the Year" Award is his desire to help out his backup goalie, I don't buy it. If there really is no market for him, it's clearly NOT due to money. His salary is actually very affordable for most teams, particularly now that part of it has been paid. He's also quite a bit better statistically then what's usually on the waiver wire. So there must be something else going on here that's keeping potential suitors at bay. No way would Burke waive him if anyone had expressed interest. Even if he was playing hardball, he'd want to get a low draft pick before just casting him aside. I find it highly strange that you'd not hang onto a guy who proved it in stretches last year to get yourself some help at the deadline. His salary is not enough of a handcuff to prevent him from even riding the pine until a starter invariably gets hurt and forces someone to overpay.
If he were to "fall" (or rise, however you want to look at it) that far, I'd like to see him wind up with Colorado. As per their pick up of Bacashiua last week, they want some goaltending depth. And even though Budaj and Theo are play well this season, it'd be a nice tandem to see Budaj and Bryzgalov rotating in net in Lodo next year, provided the could get him signed that is.
Consider that his career record is 26-23-8 on a GOOD (maybe even GREAT) team. This year he's a game under 0.500. Last season he was two games over 0.500. Year before that a game over 0.500. See a pattern?
He's got a solid career save percentage at 0.909 and a sparkling career goals against average at 2.48. But if you're the GM of a bottom feeder club, is he likely to put up those numbers behind a less solid team when that's what he's doing with Anaheim? That's the $64,000 question...
Add to the mix the "What does Brian know that he's not telling us?" odour that surrounds this waiver placement, and Bryz raises more questions than answers at the moment.
The method behind Burke's madness? Best I can figure is his team is struggling and this is a relatively low-risk way of shaking things up.
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on November 16th at 3:01 PM.
They did NOT say the same things about Kiprusoff! He wasn't even a 0.500 goalie back in his San Jose days! [*grin*]
You have to remember that Kipper had a rough 2002-03 season and made himself the easy choice to cut when the Sharks had to decide between him, Toskala and Nabokov. What a difference a couple of years make...
And on the flip side, would you have expected Toskala -- who had much better personal statistics in San Jose than EITHER pre-Calgary Kiprusoff or pre-waivers Bryzgalov -- to be struggling like he is in Toronto?
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on November 16th at 3:25 PM.
This issue is getting more and more interesting. Matt & BMF, to your discussion, I wonder if a reason that Burke could not find the right deal, is that what many teams need is improvement on the blue line. And No one is ready to deal any prospects or talent on that side of the ice.
Think of what Burke did when he traded Federov for Bouchemin (sp?) or #### the Kings were able to "steal" Jack Johnson from Carolina? Even San Jose worked the Toskala/Bell deal for some solid prospects. Solid blue liners maybe be a more valuable commodity right now. And Bryz, as good as he could be, is not worth enough for a team to part ways with any talent.
The obvious response to the lack of excitement about Bryz being on the wire is that there isn't as much interest as there appears to be. While I think some situations like Tampa's off-ice goings on could help to explain their lack of alacrity, I would think Pittsburgh for one would be chomping at the bit to land an experienced backup to really push Fleury. This tells me that either there's something going around the league that it's not worth the effort, or Burkie's fellow GMs called his bluff and didn't offer anything worth taking in his repeated attempts to deal him.
What's odd is what's posted several times above, that this move is very low-cost indeed. Should he hit re-entry waivers, I don't think there is any doubt he won't pass through again. Burke's own comments indicate he supposedly wants his goalie to play more, and I guess he wasn't expecting it would be for his minor league affiliate.
Everything I've heard about Hiller has been good, but here's the rub: Giguere is coming off some serious injury issues and I just don't get the sense. If you want to wait until the deadline and then make a move to a club desperate for help, that makes a bit more sense in my view. I agree with Matt that I haven't seen any indication that he's fantastic, but his numbers are good enough to merit starting in this league when compared with some other folks. This just seems strategically below Burke's usual standards to me.
As much as Burkey wants to deal away Bryz (via trade or waivers), i'm sure Edmonton is the last place he'd want to send him because of the bad blood.
He'd rather see him go to a division rival before that happens. Personally I'd love to see Bryz get in his car and drive down the freeway to the Kings. It's pretty clear THEY need some help in goal.
I dont see Pittsburgh picking him up at all for two reasons.
1) Fleury has fragile confidence, and there is a better chance bringing in another goalie will shoot down his confidence more than an experience backup will push him at this point. Therrien is already screwing with his confidence by playing Sabourin more.
2) Pens have a self induced cap beleived to be about where they currently sit at $43mm. Getting Bryzgalov will put them over that and I'm not sure they want to go any further over it.
KingsFan4ever: If the Oilers grab Bryzgalov there's not a thing Burke can do about it. It's waivers, meaning the teams with the worst winning percentage gets first "dibs".
It would certainly go a long way to extending the "Burke-Lowe" feud if the Oilers did take him, wouldn't it? The press would have a field day with that!
All I remember when I heard this was the sight of Burke being all frustrated last year at the trade deadline when he couldn't get a deal done. he wasn't ready to deal away Bobby Ryan but that was all he had as far as what other teams wanted. He has gotten more difficult over the last few seasons and I think his inability to deal Bryzgalov stems from the probable fact that his asking price is too high.
If Burke was forced to put Bryz on waivers he only has himself to blame. Gainey got rid of Samsonov and his 3.5 mil, so I find it hard that Burke couldn't do the same when teams were scampering for goalies this summer, he simply made Bryz unaffordable to these teams.
Thanks for pointing that out Spector. Of course the Phoenix Coyotes ended up getting him which for me is another lost opportunity for the LA Kings to upgrade goaltending.
So it's basically a big black eye for LA in the fact that:
A) It could have sweetened the LA-Anaheim rivalry by getting Bryz.
B) A division rival in Phoenix got him instead.
C) Bryz plays his first game for Phx against... LA and gets a shut out.
Ilya has already proven he can be a starter instead of the tandem of LaBarbera and Aubin. I'm griping again but it's another point against the Lombardi administration.
Congrats to Bryz. He finally gets his well deserved shot.
***UPDATE****
According to the LA Times, Phoenix was ahead of LA in the waiver hierarchy so that is why Bryz is a Coyote. However, it's important to note that there where no inquiries made by LA about Bryz at all and claim they are sticking with LaBarbera and Aubin...
Last edited by KingFan4ever on November 19th at 10:15 AM.
That reality is what makes the goalies who sustain top level play over most or all of their careers and over several teams so special -- Roy, Hasek, Vernon and even Joseph to name but a few.
Last edited by StanMan on November 17th at 7:20 PM.
Ward and Theodore don't belong on your list. Ward's been a Hurricane his entire career, and Theodore's best seasons were earlier in the decade in Montreal. The change of scenery to Colorado did nothing to improve his game.
Deal of the Century for phoenix, and he played a great game. Burke must have crapped his pants when Bryzgalov pitched a shutout.....P.S. spector change your pic back to the old one, it's far less scary
Someone really needs to get a hold of Shero and Lombardi and ask them what exactly they were smoking. Not to sound all TKF here, but they made a big mistake. I don't think Bryzgalov is the second coming, but he's dirt cheap and clearly worth a conditional pick for teams needing goalie help. I'm willing to believe that TB couldn't scrape the money together with their ownership issues, and I get the point about the Pens' cap, but really, you've got to be kidding. Either Pitt or LA should have scrapped him up in an instant, and not just because of the results of his first game. Are they that deep in goaltending that they need to allow the Yotes to get him? I thought this was the LA team that had Dan freakin five hole Cloutier starting prior to this season, and the Pens team that once employed a fading Jocelyn Thibault. Sure they have current works in progress, but you mean to honestly say that Fleury's confidence is better with glorified AHL netminder Sabourin playing than learning from Bryz? Both of those GMs have some explaining to do in my view.
MPH: It's my understanding that Phoenix was higher in the pecking order. They use a formula not unsimilar to the power ranking formula to determine who gets the top grab.
Had another player gone on waivers at the same time, and the same teams that put in for Bryzgalov put in for said second player, how would it be ruled? Would Phoenix get both, or does it work like the draft and the second player goes to the next-worst team, or perhaps some other scenario I haven't thought of?
chaas- I believe that once PHX got their player- they would go to the back of line on the waiver selection regardless. KingsFan, I think especially since the Kings did not land Bryz that they were going to deny wanting him since they do not want to unnecessarily upset the current tandem. MPH, I agree if it was a conditional draft pick that Burke was offering that the Kings should have been all over it but I would doubt that offer was the same for a Pacfic Division (& Socal)rival.
Yeah, I meant more that I found it surprising and alarming that those teams wouldn't part with a conditional pick for him. And InShano, you might be right about the divisional rival idea, but something is always better than nothing..and Burke couldn't have been sure that same team he was reluctant to deal to wouldn't be the one to pluck him off waivers. I am quite sure they are regretting that decision today, admittedly or otherwise.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
