Ilya Bryzgalov, ‘fantastic goalie’, training in Sweden
The musical chairs for NHL goaltenders has slowed significantly, with only a few potential landing spots still open. This is not exactly good news for Ilya Bryzgalov, the former Philadelphia Flyers goalie who carries more baggage than a carousel at LAX.
Either biding his time or checking his options, Bryz has opted to train overseas with Eric Granqvist, the goaltending coach for Färjestad of the Swedish Hockey League in ... well, Sweden. He’ll train with the team this week.
Granqvist told Aftonbladet that he and Bryzgalov spoke over Skype after being approached by agent Ritch Winter.
Said Granqvist:
“Bryz is basically a fantastic goalkeeper who now want to focus on hockey and do whatever it takes to find to their game again."
The thought is that he’ll benefit from the training, and that the NHL netminder’s presence will benefit Färjestad’s goalies, Fredrik Pettersson Wentzel and Danny Taylor. Yep, that’s right: THE Danny Taylor, of two games with the Calgary Flames fame.
So with a former AHLer and a guy who sounds like a gourmet pretzel as his training peers, this is clearly an audition, right?
Said club director Hakan Loob (!):
“No, no, no, no. Absolutely not.”
Oh. OK then.
More Loob (never a bad thing), on Bryzgalov’s expected price tag as a free agent, via Aftonbladet:
“I do not know his situation, what his requirements [are]. But we already have two good goalies.”
Yeah, but do either of them know the intricacies of Chinese tiger poaching, or have ever expressed fascination with the vastness of the universe? Probably not.
(Oh, and Loob knows that Bryzgalov doesn’t exactly have a lot to worry about financially thanks to Ed Snider, right?)
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
• Is Gary Bettman pushing for an expansion team in Seattle?
• Chicago fans get some revenge on Justin Bieber
• Ranking the top 10 goalies in the NHL
