The Phoenix Coyotes have traded Ilya Bryzgalov to the Philadelphia Flyers for left wing Matt Clackson, a third-round draft pick for 2012 and a conditional pick, NHL.com reports.
Paul Holmgren, the Flyers general manager, said he is trying to sign Bryzgalov to a long-term deal, and the conditional pick depends on whether Bryzgalov reaches a deal with the Flyers.
"We'll see if we can get a deal done. We've got our foot in the door now," Holmgren said. "We have some time to look at certain things and try to work through the issues and get a deal. We didn't make this trade to acquire his rights to just kind of hang around. We're going to try our best to get him signed."
The 30-year-old goaltender owns a save percentage of .916 and a goals against average of 2.53. Bryzgalov has been to the playoffs four times between stints with the Anaheim Ducks and the Coyotes. He also played for Russia in the 2006 Winter Olympics. In 2007, Bryzgalov back-stopped the Ducks to a Stanley Cup championship, recording a .907 save percentage and a 2.47 goals-against average over 27 games in the playoffs.
The move comes less than a year after both teams made miracle runs. Last year, the Flyers found themselves in the Stanley Cup Final after making the playoffs on the last day of the season, while the Coyotes rebounded from an sub-par season to make the playoffs.
Don Maloney, Phoenix's general manager, said the club knew they would not be able to re-sign Bryzgalov.
"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," Maloney said. "We will now focus our efforts on adding another goaltender to our roster for the upcoming season."
The move could help stabilize Philadelphia's goaltending, as the Flyers used a goaltending carousel in both this and last year's Stanley Cup playoffs. Flyers head coach Peter Lavoilette used Brian Boucher and Micheal Leighton during the team's run to the Stanley Cup Final, and this year he switched between Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky. All three of those goaltenders are still with Philadelphia.
Calackson, a University of Western Michigan product, has been playing for the Philadelphia (now Adirondack) Phantoms of the AHL. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2005 NHL draft.
The Coyotes were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs this year, while the Flyers were swept by the Boston Bruins in the second round.
