Ilya Bryzgalov is headed back to the NHL team he began his career with.
The 34-year-old goaltender has landed a tryout with the Anaheim Ducks, the team announced Wednesday.
[tweet https://twitter.com/AnaheimDucks/status/540206794870489088 align=”center”]
The Ducks have been hit hard by goaltender injuries this season and both of their backups, John Gibson and Jason LaBarbara, are on injured reserve. Frederik Andersen has played well in his sophomore campaign with an 11-4-4 record, a .917 save percentage and a 2.35 goals against average, but he only has 48 games of NHL experience.
Bryzgalov was released from Minnesota Wild training camp before the 2014-15 campaign began and became an unrestricted free agent as a result. He went 26-23-8 with a .909 save percentage and a 2.48 GAA in 69 games for the Ducks from 2001-02 through 2007-08.
Bryzgalov played for the Edmonton Oilers and Wild last season and went 12-9-8 with a .909 save percentage and a 2.68 GAA. He helped the Wild advance to the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs after a seven-game first-round series win over the Colorado Avalanche.
Luckily for Bryzgalov, there aren’t many bears in Anaheim.
