Ilya Bryzgalov signs one-year deal with Anaheim Ducks
Ilya Bryzgalov is back! The veteran goaltender signed a one-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks, where he'll probably serve as Frederik Andersen's backup for the remainder of the year.
By
Chris Peters
•
1 min read
The Anaheim Ducks announced that the club has signed veteran free agent goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to a one-year deal. Bryzgalov had been with the club on a professional tryout deal, but he’s expected to join the club full time after a brief conditioning stint with the American Hockey League’s Norfolk Admirals.
This will be Bryzgalov’s second go-around with the Ducks as Anaheim is the team that drafted him in 2000. He spent parts of five seasons with the Ducks to begin his NHL career and was the backup goaltender on their Stanley Cup champion team in 2007.
Bryzgalov has been a hockey nomad in the years since. He had a successful run with the Arizona Coyotes before signing a mega deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. After just two seasons, Bryzgalov was bought out by Philly. He waited around for a new team last season before eventually landing with the Edmonton Oilers. He lasted 20 games before being flipped at the trade deadline to the Minnesota Wild, where he spent the remainder of last season.
Bryzgalov, at age 34, isn’t going to be a top-of-the-line option anymore. He had a .909 save percentage in 32 appearances last season and really struggled in nine postseason appearances with the Wild. He was with Minnesota in training camp, but was eventually released from his tryout.
What Bryzgalove provides the Ducks now is an experienced netminder to backup young goaltender Frederik Andersen. They then can stash prized goalie prospect John Gibson, who has been sidelined with a groin injury, in the AHL with Norfolk. Gibson will get the playing time he needs, while Andersen doesn’t have to feel like he’s looking over his shoulder the whole time.
The Ducks don’t need Bryzgalov to be great, they just need him to be a strong backup and good teammate, for which he got rave reviews in Minnesota last year, and just be there when they need him. It could be a win-win for everyone involved, but especially the fans as one of the NHL’s most eccentric and entertaining personalities is back in business.
In 457 career games, Bryzgalov has a .913 save percentage and 2.56 goals-against average.
