I didn't say it was backhanded. I'm just saying you aren't go to pull the wool over any agents. - MJL
I agree. I'm also not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. In a negotiation the party that cares less usually comes out on top, imho. Again, I don't think this is reason to not buy him out this year, just something to consider that there is no stable backup plan due to the timing of the buyouts and that doesn't set well with me.
I actually don't care if they buy him out this year or next as long as he is bought out. I said it (wrote it) the day that deal was done. A noose around the organizations neck. Terrible contract from day one unless he was top 5 in the league (I didn't have faith in that) for 8 years.
My thing with Bryz is that his first season he split time with Bob it was said his play went down cause he was used to being the workhorse. This season Lavy played him like he was in Pheonix and he cried to the media that he was tired. The guy just says and does things that are head scratchers, like someone said he doesnt want to be here. When was the last time you heard him say "I love playing for the Flyers" or anything other than space is cool. I actually like the guy and his personality but I think people are giving him way to much credit on here.
What happens if Mason is the starting goaltender next year and Bryz is the backup? You think its a circus now wait til that happens Lavy had plenty of chances to say Bryz would be the starter next season and he never did. Mason believes he has a shot to be the #1 here, he wouldnt just assume that on his own. - flyerfan28
Backups with 5.6 million dollar caps hits are common place in the NHL.
Amazing two years after signing him talks of buyouts run rampid. Meanwhile Bobrovsky is a Vezina contender. Philly typical.
Backups with 5.6 million dollar caps hits are common place in the NHL.
Amazing two years after signing him talks of buyouts run rampid. Meanwhile Bobrovsky is a Vezina contender. Philly typical. - PLindbergh31
Thats on the player on the GM for signing him to that ridiculous contract to begine with. I dont think anyone even when Bryz was signed thought that was a good deal. If Bryz was making half that or even 3/4 of his annual salary people wouldnt be bitter. Contract compared to play are not equal.
Thats on the player on the GM for signing him to that ridiculous contract to begine with. I dont think anyone even when Bryz was signed thought that was a good deal. If Bryz was making half that or even 3/4 of his annual salary people wouldnt be bitter. Contract compared to play are not equal. - flyerfan28
The drama that now comes along with him, coupled with the awful contract, and average play at best isn't worth having him on the team. Back to the drawing board.
The drama that now comes along with him, coupled with the awful contract, and average play at best isn't worth having him on the team. Back to the drawing board. - PLindbergh31
Location: There aren't any answers. Only choices. Joined: 07.01.2007
May 17 @ 1:07 PM ET
Valid points, thanks for the explanations!
I'm curious why the NFL does it then? Is it as simple as the teams/owners in the NFL having much more leverage over the NFLPA than is the case in the NHL? Although holdouts in the NFL do occur... - Tartan69
No contracts in the NFL (Or is it two contracts in the NFL) are guaranteed. Renegotiation happens all the time. And yes, weak union.
Location: There aren't any answers. Only choices. Joined: 07.01.2007
May 17 @ 1:08 PM ET
The drama that now comes along with him, coupled with the awful contract, and average play at best isn't worth having him on the team. Back to the drawing board. - PLindbergh31
The current corps of media here pretty much guarantees they will find a way to create goalie drama no matter who is in net. It's easier on them than actually doing a good job.
Not to my knowledge but I have quite a few relatives on my father's side who live out in the part of California where he's from. So it's possible we're distant cousins or some such.
Side note: When I write for PWI, a lot of ppl think my name is a rib on Bill Apter and Dave Meltzer rather than my real name .
The drama that now comes along with him, coupled with the awful contract, and average play at best isn't worth having him on the team. Back to the drawing board. - PLindbergh31
I have to say, I'm now firmly on the buyout Bryzgalov bandwagon. I like the guy, have defended him when I felt necessary, and I still think he can be a good goalie, but I feel it's time to move on.
His performance in net has not been up to the standard needed given the financial and time commitment the team has made to him. He hasn't been awful, but he also hasn't been much better than average, either. The biggest issue is the wild inconsistency he's shown from week to week or month to month.
I understand replacing him is a bit dicey, but I also know that they can make a short term commitment to a new guy to split time with Mason and re-assess next summer.
With the shrinking cap and the new cap recapture penalties, I find it doubtful that Bryzgalov would complete his contract anyhow. Waiting until next summer is risky to me, because if Bryzgalov were to get hurt, the buyout option is off the table. They already have enough dead money/LTIR tied up in Pronger.
Finally, and least importantly, it's my firm opinion that he really doesn't want to be here. I'm not saying that it'll be an issue or that he'll cause trouble. It's more the icing on top of the cake. The primary, really only reasons, are the level of play doesn't meet the level of investment and the potential cap issues moving forward. - Jsaquella
I say give him another year. Here's why....the reason is simple, really....
Who the hell are they gonna spend that money on? Or even some of it? The Free Agent fridge needs a Costco run, to say the least. For any position....
Not to my knowledge but I have quite a few relatives on my father's side who live out in the part of California where he's from. So it's possible we're distant cousins or some such.
Side note: When I write for PWI, a lot of ppl think my name is a rib on Bill Apter and Dave Meltzer - bmeltzer
I found it more than a coincidence that you guys share a last name and you both are pretty good writers, so I couldn't help but ask.
Not to my knowledge but I have quite a few relatives on my father's side who live out in the part of California where he's from. So it's possible we're distant cousins or some such.
Side note: When I write for PWI, a lot of ppl think my name is a rib on Bill Apter and Dave Meltzer. - bmeltzer
Now battinggggg for Pedro Borbon.....Manny Mota...Mota....Mota....Mota....
Location: it's been 84 years, AZ Joined: 01.02.2007
May 17 @ 1:20 PM ET
My thing with Bryz is that his first season he split time with Bob it was said his play went down cause he was used to being the workhorse. This season Lavy played him like he was in Pheonix and he cried to the media that he was tired. The guy just says and does things that are head scratchers, like someone said he doesnt want to be here. When was the last time you heard him say "I love playing for the Flyers" or anything other than space is cool. I actually like the guy and his personality but I think people are giving him way to much credit on here. - flyerfan28
JfC, when is the last time anyone in the media asked him that question? They ask him things like "do you think you've been professional since you've been here?" Or native russians ask him political questions. It's not like he's just going to have a press conference and say, "hey! everyone! i LOVE playing for the flyers!"
Location: it's been 84 years, AZ Joined: 01.02.2007
May 17 @ 1:21 PM ET
The current corps of media here pretty much guarantees they will find a way to create goalie drama no matter who is in net. It's easier on them than actually doing a good job. - bodiva88
I say give him another year. Here's why....the reason is simple, really....
Who the hell are they gonna spend that money on? Or even some of it? The Free Agent fridge needs a Costco run, to say the least. For any position.... - Giroux_Is_God
I really don't have a problem giving Bryz another year to make this work.
On the other hand, I would understand if they had some sort of creative trade put together where they needed the cap space and they decided to pull the trigger and buy him out.
Don't forget that the cap is going down this year, so if teams are going to do anything significant to their teams, you can't help but wonder if there will be increased trade activity.
JfC, when is the last time anyone in the media asked him that question? They ask him things like "do you think you've been professional since you've been here?" Or native russians ask him political questions. It's not like he's just going to have a press conference and say, "hey! everyone! i LOVE playing for the flyers!"
why is saying you're tired "crying to the media"?
people giving him too much credit on here? - hammarby31
My point is all he talks about recently is how much he dislikes Philly media and anything else. You just dont hear hockey players tell the media they are tired there were other goaltenders that played just as much and you never heard a peep..... He needs to go and I think he will.
I have to say, I'm now firmly on the buyout Bryzgalov bandwagon. I like the guy, have defended him when I felt necessary, and I still think he can be a good goalie, but I feel it's time to move on.
His performance in net has not been up to the standard needed given the financial and time commitment the team has made to him. He hasn't been awful, but he also hasn't been much better than average, either. The biggest issue is the wild inconsistency he's shown from week to week or month to month.
I understand replacing him is a bit dicey, but I also know that they can make a short term commitment to a new guy to split time with Mason and re-assess next summer.
With the shrinking cap and the new cap recapture penalties, I find it doubtful that Bryzgalov would complete his contract anyhow. Waiting until next summer is risky to me, because if Bryzgalov were to get hurt, the buyout option is off the table. They already have enough dead money/LTIR tied up in Pronger.
Finally, and least importantly, it's my firm opinion that he really doesn't want to be here. I'm not saying that it'll be an issue or that he'll cause trouble. It's more the icing on top of the cake. The primary, really only reasons, are the level of play doesn't meet the level of investment and the potential cap issues moving forward. - Jsaquella
I'm for keeping him for another year and then buying him out. Mason is still a project coming back but we are in the rare position of being able to let both goalies duke it out for the Number one reins before we have to jettison one of them. Why try and guess what the future holds for either netminder when we can simply wait and see how it shakes out? Let's face it, almost anyone we sign with the extra cash is going to have to sign short term as we need that space to resign Giroux and the rest. So instead of guessing now, let'em settle it themselves. It's really no skin off our noses to do that.
Location: it's been 84 years, AZ Joined: 01.02.2007
May 17 @ 1:37 PM ET
My point is all he talks about recently is how much he dislikes Philly media and anything else. You just dont hear hockey players tell the media they are tired there were other goaltenders that played just as much and you never heard a peep..... He needs to go and I think he will. - flyerfan28
i love that he took the media to task. He works hard, plays hard, he cares. He's a good goalie. I'm willing to give him another year. The team needs to get healthy and make some adjustments. They do that and he can be great. It's a team game. If you have to rely on him to bail the team out game after game after game, with little goal support, little margin for error, and high risk play, we're going to have more of what we have.
For all the people clamoring he sucks, he's not the answer, he's average...look at Lundqvist. Guy's 8th year in the league and he's never been past the 2nd round. Oh right, I forgot. He's the greatest ever...it's just everyone else around him that's never been good enough.
On Edler, F that guy. Filthy hit on Staal. The guy is by many accounts soft and was completely disengaged in the vancouver playoffs. Not giving up major pieces for this guy.
I say give him another year. Here's why....the reason is simple, really....
Who the hell are they gonna spend that money on? Or even some of it? The Free Agent fridge needs a Costco run, to say the least. For any position.... - Giroux_Is_God
I would be on board, but the injury thing someone else brought up does scare me. Your playing with fire. Like dressing Danny B for those last 10 games (which I still have a problem with). But this time its all or nothing buyout next summer. So if Bryz goes down at the end of the season for an extended amount of time, the flyers are screwed.
i love that he took the media to task. He works hard, plays hard, he cares. He's a good goalie. I'm willing to give him another year. The team needs to get healthy and make some adjustments. They do that and he can be great. It's a team game. If you have to rely on him to bail the team out game after game after game, with little goal support, little margin for error, and high risk play, we're going to have more of what we have.
For all the people clamoring he sucks, he's not the answer, he's average...look at Lundqvist. Guy's 8th year in the league and he's never been past the 2nd round. Oh right, I forgot. He's the greatest ever...it's just everyone else around him that's never been good enough. - hammarby31
He made it to the Conference Finals just last year.
And his playoff stats and regular season stats are almost exactly the same. That is, they're both outstanding. It's not his fault the Rangers haven't won a Cup.
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