It Ain't Easy Bein' Bryzy

 Contrary to what Paul Holmgren had told the media for months, the Philadelphia Flyers GM released a statement Tuesday saying his team will buyout the remainder of goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov's contract after two seasons with the club.
 This is the second and final compliance buyout Holmgren will use (the other being Danny Briere,) which
means the Flyers will not be charged against the salary cap for the remainder of his contract, unlike a regular buyout would.

(Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

 Holmgren called the move "a difficult business decision" in the release on the Flyers' website, and no wonder. This move is the biggest contract buyout in NHL history according to the great CapGeek.com, and guarantees that Philly will pay Bryz a little over $1.6 million a year for the next 14 years.
 Bryzgalov, usually a very outspoken person despite an obvious language barrier, didn't have much to say about the team's decision, telling three Philadelphia beat writers on speaker phone, "Congratulations, you guys win," before hanging up and refusing to talk to them any further.
 Oh, Bryz.
 Bryzgalov will be an unrestricted free agent on July 5th now, making this summer's offseason much more interesting. Before we take a look into what the future holds for Mr. Universe, let's take a long, well-deserved look back on all the magical moments Bryzgalov gave us during his short tenure as the starting goalie in Philadelphia.

Remember Tim Thomas?

POTENTIAL LANDING SPOTS FOR POPPA BEAR

 One of the more bizarre stories of the offseason that predated lockout shenanigans was goalie Tim Thomas choosing to sit out the last season of his contract with the Boston Bruins. It's hard to blame Thomas, 39, for wanting to spend more time with his family, especially with looming uncertainty surrounding the status of the upcoming season, but it didn't make it any less peculiar of a decision. Now, with the Bruins in a best-of-three series for the Stanley Cup with stellar goaltending from Tuukka Rask, it is easy to forget that Thomas ditched the only franchise to really give him a legitimate chance as a starter in the NHL.

Tim Thomas wrastles in front with the Great Eight.
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

 At the time of his departure, though, Thomas pointed out that this was not a retirement, and he had every intention of returning to hockey in 2013-14. Whether or not he sticks to that or not has yet to be seen, but if he does, he will be an unrestricted free agent. So with Poppa Bear Thomas potentially on the market this summer, what teams would be interested in his adding his services?

Pronger Out / Philly's Options

 Yesterday night, the Philadelphia Flyers dropped a bombshell on the hockey world.  At the recommendation of specialists in Pittsburgh, new captain and sure-fire future Hall of Famer, Chris Pronger, has been shut down for the remainder of the 2011-12 season and playoffs due to post concussion syndrome.  While losing a player of Pronger's caliber for the rest of the year is a huge blow to the Flyers, it does now open up $4.9 million in cap space on their roster and leaves them with many options to fill the void left by Pronger.
 The Flyers, already with an intimidating top four on the blue line without Pronger that consists of Kimmo Timonen, Andrej Meszaros, Matt Carle, and Braydon Coburn, will look to use the new cash opening to acquire a UFA-to-be at the trade deadline in February or sooner.  Players that immediately come to mind are Nashville's star Ryan Suter and Carolina's Tim Gleason.  As a physical presence and solid puck-moving D-man, Suter would be a fantastic addition to any roster, but Nashville seems hell bent on re-signing him.  So if that trade were to happen at all, it would be right at the deadline, not any time soon.  Gleason, on the other hand, is a member of a struggling Hurricanes club that has been surrounded by trade rumors galore over the past few weeks.  Now with Pronger out, Philadelphia could easily decide to make a move with Carolina, it's just a matter if Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren feels Gleason, or either of the other 'Canes defensemen in the last year of their contracts, Jaroslav Spacek and Bryan Allen, are what the Flyers need.

Ryan Suter would be the grand
prize for Philly, but the Preds may
not give up on re-signing him.

 Other notable defensemen set to become unrestricted free agents are Toronto's John-Michael Liles, Anaheim's Francois Bauchemin, Washington's Dennis Wideman, and Tampa Bay's Pavel Kubina.  Liles is certainly the most intriguing name on the list, but do not expect him to be moved, considering the price Toronto paid to acquire him in the offseason and especially the Leafs' improvement so far this season.  Bauchemin would be a nice fit with Philly, but it would be a matter if Anaheim is selling.  Everyone in the Ducks organization remembers Bauchemin's contributions to their Stanley Cup Championship in 2007, and they may not be willing to trade any more blue liners after already trading Kurtis Foster earlier this week.  If Washington's recent struggles continue, it will probably prompt some roster moves, and Wideman may find himself on the trade block.  Kubina is well out of his prime, but could still serve as a slightly salivating acquisition for a power play unit.

 All of this is speculation, of course, but the Flyers would be foolish not to utilize the $4,921,000 in cap space now available as the unfortunate result of their captain's condition.

Chemistry Schemistry

 "Chemistry" has long been recognized in the hockey community as one of the key ingredients to a team's success.  How players positively interact with each other among different lines or defensive pairings, on power plays, and even in the locker room all play into the mystical force that is "chemistry".  Along with the quest GMs and coaches embark on to find "chemistry", has come the age old task of being sure to not mess with it.  Fans are always afraid of roster moves altering their favorite team's chemistry, and even things as simple as moving one winger from the 4th to 3rd line can cause a storm of scrutiny from the always knowledgeable fanbase.
 Chemistry is very important to a team's success, but two teams in the NHL are proving this season that the notion of screwing up chemistry, or even that chemistry takes time to develop, may be overrated.  The Philadelphia Flyers and Florida Panthers had two of the greatest offseason roster overhauls in league history, yet they're both currently leading their respective divisions and the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference.

Gag Order

 First we had "Dry Island" in Philadelphia, but now we have a Gag Order, too.

 The Flyers' offseason signing and notorious chatterbox, Ilya Bryzgalov, has been at the focus of much scrutiny despite the Flyers' strong start to the season.  After the orgy of scoring that took place last Thursday as Philadelphia fell 9-8 in Winnipeg, Bryzgalov admittedly stated he was far from where he feels he should be as a #1 goaltender in the NHL, and that he needs to simply stop the puck more.  Quite an honest, humble confession that many people appreciated, but the Flyers' organization didn't seem to like his post-game comments to the media too much.  In fact, they don't seem to enjoy any of his comments to the media as much as the microphones, recorders, pens, pencils, and papers do.
 Tim Panaccio of Philadelphia's Comcast Sports Network, tweeted earlier today that just a few days after Bryz's goaltending coach criticized him for talking to the media too much, the Flyers have come down with a gag order on the veteran goalie.  Bryzgalov will now be prohibited from speaking to the media the day before a game or the day of a game.  He also cannot receive any questions from the media on nights when he does not see the ice.  He can only speak to the media after games in which he plays, or other practice days that do not interfere with the restrictions just outlined.
 Wow.
 We're still awaing news if this "Gag Order", applies to all Flyers players and not just Bryzgalov.  If this new rule goes for all in an orange uniform, journalists in Philly are going to have some extremely boring morning skates to look forward to and near-pandemonium post-game routines to scavenge interviews and information.  So I wouldn't expect that to be the case.  On the other hand, if it did only just apply to Bryzgalov, singling one player out in an official team policy has to be in some violation of some rules or guidelines somewhere that the NHLPA could get upset about, and if it isn't, I'm sure it will be a subject of discussion when the owners and PA meet to negotiate a new CBA over the summer.

 Bryz, a very camera-friendly personality never afraid of answering any question posed before him, has never really seen as much media attention in his career as he's gotten day in and day out in Philadelphia.  Compared to Phoenix and pre-Stanley Cup Anaheim, Bryzgalov may feel like he's being mobbed by the Toronto media every day!  Now, if the Flyers really feel like Bryz getting caught up in speaking to journalists and reporters in a mass media market he's never experienced before is hindering his on-ice performance, good for them for stepping in.  But I can only believe this is a reasonable solution if the Flyers had already spoken to Bryz about chatting too much to the cameras, instead of quickly jumping to the conclusion to maroon a player on Dry Island Part II, or "Mute Island", as it is becoming known as on various Flyers' message boards.  That part of the story, we may never know.

Here's a List of Awesome Quotes Bryzgalov Had After the Winnipeg Game:

"When you have terrible goalies it's no surprise why you have so many goals."

"You know, I have zero confidence in myself right now."

"I am terrible right now."

"They're trying to play hard, everybody, but bottom line: I am a

goalie, I'm the guy who has to stop the puck, you know?"

"I can't even stop the simple shot!  You know, maybe that's why the players

make more mistakes, because they have no confidence in their goalie."

"I am the reason we are losing games."

"I am lost in the woods right now."