Flyers use compliance buyout on Bryzgalov
Ilya Bryzgalov's unspectacular two-year tenure in Philadelphia came to an unceremonious end Tuesday, when the Flyers announced their intention to buy out the goalie's contract.
"I met with Ilya this morning and informed him that we are going to exercise a compliance buyout of his contract," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said in a statement. "This was a very difficult business decision to make for us and we want to thank Ilya for his time here and wish him all the best moving forward."
The buyout won't officially take place until 11 p.m. ET Wednesday, or 48 hours after the end of the Stanley Cup final. The Flyers acquired Bryzgalov two years ago in a sign-and-trade deal with the Phoenix Coyotes, and agreed to pay his nine-year, $51 million contract. He earned $10 in the 2011-12 season and $6.5 million in 2012-13.
The 33-year-old Russian was ranked 48th in the NHL in save percentage this past season among goalies with at least 10 games played. The team must pay all of the remaining money owed -- Bryzgalov has seven years left at $5.6 million annually.
The decision to buy out Bryzgalov means the team has now used both of the buyouts available to them under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. They also bought out center Danny Briere. Those buyouts will save the team about $12.17 million against the cap in each of the next two seasons, according to the team's website.
