Why Sabres Fans Should Be Excited About Bryzgalov and the Flyers

Rumor time!

The Philadelphia Flyers traded for the negotiation rights to Ilya Bryzgalov, who is to be a free agent July 1st. Reports from this morning, courtesy of Broad Street Hockey, indicate that the team could be narrowing in on a contract of around $7 million for the goaltender. Now what could this possibly mean to Sabres fans? What about this story could get me really, really, really, really, really, really excited?

Well the answer to that is simple. Pop quiz, hot shot. What position do the Philadelphia Flyers have depth in that the Sabres are currently lacking?

That’s right! The Sabres need a #1 center. That was a close call, wasn’t it Bucky? Next time…

Broad Street Buzz wrote a great article a little bit ago discussing the possibility of Jeff Carter being traded to make room. They didn’t seem too hot on the idea, since depth at center is kind of a nice thing to have and all, but the rumor talk around Philly is that Carter might make great trade meat.

If the Sabres were to try to get in on this trade, though, is Jeff Carter the guy that they’d want? Is he the one that the Flyers would try to move? My hope would lean more toward Mike Richards, but I wouldn’t scoff at obtaining Carter, or Claude Giroux for that matter.

Carter seems familiar somehow. Broad Street Buzz points out that Philly fans don’t like his “laziness” or “lack of defensive play.” He seems more like a sniper, and that’s what BSB wants him to do. Kind of reminds me of my feelings on a certain blue & gold member…

Before you get all up in arms, I’m not a believer of Vanek being lazy. He’s got a style, and he shared much of that style with Jeff Carter. And frankly I don’t think we need another guy like that…we’ve got ours. So that makes me look at Mike Richards and wonder, “What if?”

We’ve got Tim Connolly going out the door, and we’re looking to add a #1 center to come in and take over.

I’ve given my 2 cents about the above hit (and I got quoted on Puck Daddy for it, so I can’t deny that I said it). While it wasn’t the smartest play by Richards, it wasn’t suspension worthy. You know what else wasn’t smart? Tim Connolly deciding he wanted to play hockey while hunched over. So if that’s your evidence for why “I don’t want Mike Richards on my team cuz he’s dirty” I promise you I couldn’t care any less about your opinion on the matter. He’s big, he’s gritty, he’s more talented than any center the Sabres have, and he’s a possibility to be moved.

So what do the Sabres have to offer Philly? Well, consider that the Flyers don’t have a pick in the first two rounds of the draft. The Sabres also have several role players that Philly is missing right now, and even though it would hurt a lot to lose Kaleta or (please not) Gaustad, you know what? Them’s called growing pains. And landing a player like Richards, or Carter for that matter, is definitely a growth spurt for this Sabres team.

We’ll see what happens, and we’ll see soon. The draft is approaching, and the Flyers’ acquisition of a goalie that is going to fetch a huge price tag, their lack of draft picks, and their depth at center definitely make this an exciting possibility.