Flyers' owner reflects on decision to sign Bryzgalov, trade Bobrovsky
The Philadelphia Flyers received solid goaltending from Steve Mason last season, but the relative stability came after the latest bumbled search to find a franchise-type netminder.
Back in 2011, the Flyers - at the urging of owner Ed Snider - signed Ilya Bryzgalov to an exorbitant contract, with up-and-coming Russian goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, serving as the primary backup. With Bryzgalov seemingly locked in to the starting gig for the foreseeable future, the Flyers were forced to trade Bobrovsky.
That's how Snider tells the story, and he recently lamented both decisions, as per Randy Miller of NJ.com.
Not only did we make a mistake on the long-term contract (Bryzgalov received), but Bobrovksy's a young guy and he told (then general manager Paul Holmgren), 'As soon as my contract's up I'm out of here.' He wasn't going to re-sign with us. He was going to go back to Russia (or) he was going to go with another team, but he wasn’t going to be a second-string goalie for the rest of his life. So that was also a problem, and Paul made the best of the situation.
The Flyers traded Bobrovsky to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a second-round pick and two fourth-round picks at the 2012 NHL Draft; in a strange twist, the Flyers made another deal with Columbus ten months later, trading veteran goalie Michael Leighton and a third-round draft pick for the aforementioned Mason.
Adding insult to injury, Bobrovsky won the Vezina Trophy in 2013 while leading the Blue Jackets to a playoff appearance.
Back in Philadelphia, however, Bryzgalov was subsequently bought out, leaving the Flyers in a decent spot with Mason at the helm.
"It’s not that we did not like Bobrovsky. The whole thing was a fiasco," Snider said. "We can't look back. What happened, happened, and here we are. Paul made what I think was a great move in picking up Mason, who’s not chopped liver."
This offseason, the Flyers somewhat surprisingly dealt Scott Hartnell to Columbus, leaving many to wonder whether Snider will spin the tale behind that deal in the not-too-distant future.