Goalie Faceoff

The dust seems to be settling after the opening weekend of free agency, and it's fair to say most of the high level talent has been signed. Brad Richards made his "shocking" decision to go to the New York Rangers (I really hope you can feel the sarcasm there), and just about everyone who was expected to go, ended up going somewhere. Unlike the goalie bonanza of last year, this year's crop was a bit thinner, but had the likes of Dwayne Roloson (who re-signed in Tampa), Mike Smith (Phoenix) and of course Tomas Vokoun. Vokoun was thought to be the prize of prizes amongst the goaltenders this year, but he only went today after teams like Colorado and Phoenix, who desperately needed starting goaltenders, signed other free agents. The size of Vokoun's contract with the Washington Capitals (1.5 million) has Flyers fans irate at the long term contract they signed Ilya Bryzgalov to and the difference in money. In an attempt to explain both, we're going to compare both goalies as best we can.


Regular Season
(Career stats)
Tomas Vokoun: (632 NHL appearances) 262-267-41 2.56 GAA .917 save% 44 shutouts

Ilya Bryzgalov: (326 NHL appearances) 156-116-35 2.53 GAA .916 save% 23 shutouts


So what does this tell us? While both goalies have played on less than stellar teams for the majority of their careers, statically, Bryzgalov wins more games. The offense of Florida was worse than Phoenix's last season (195-231), the defenses were almost identical (226-229). Both teams ranked 9th in their respective Conferences for goals for, so it's not like we're comparing apples to oranges here. To start splitting hairs, Vokoun just turned 35, while Bryzgalov just turned 31. While goalies certainly seem to perform at higher levels longer than other positions on the ice, you have to wonder how many more "good" seasons Vokoun has in him. The greatest goalie in the game, Martin Brodeur (39) has been on decline the past two seasons, and started showing his age (injuries, late season fatigue) even before that. Yes everyone is different, I'm not suggesting the the exact same thing will happen to every goalie, but it can cause for some concern for a team looking for a durable goalie. Over the past 3 seasons, Bryzgalov has started an average of 67 games, while Vokoun has started just under 60. Again, this is purely speculation, but perhaps the rigors of a starting job are starting to wear on Vokoun. Bryzgalov has also earned a Vezina nomination for his play with the Phoenix Coyotes, while Vokoun has never been nominated for the award.


Playoffs:
(Career stats)
Tomas Vokoun: (11 appearances) 3-8 2.47 GAA .922 save% 1 shutout

Ilya Bryzgalov: (27 appearances) 12-13 2.55 GAA .917 save% 3 shutouts (and a stanley cup ring)

For all the worrying that Flyers faithful have done, here comes some news, Vokoun never won a playoff series either! Shocking I know, but it looks like that greener grass over there is the same color. Again the numbers are similar, with Vokoun saving a little more that comes his way, but not enough to win games apparently. Yes, this year's playoff series for Bryzgalov was not very good, but neither was the team in front of him. Aside from Bryzgalov's stint in Anaheim, Bryzgalov hasn't had a team in front of him that can play a complete game. Nor has Vokoun to be fair, but he made those appearances in Nashville who have always played a defensive minded system. In Phoenix Bryzgalov won three playoff games in 09-10 series, while Vokoun has only three wins to his career.

When you break it down, there isn't much of a difference between the two goalies. "But what about the money," I hear you screaming at your computer screen. Alright, let's talk about the money. Is Ilya Bryzgalov getting too much money? You can certainly argue that he is, but after looking at the stats and resumes, Bryzgalov would've been the best free agent goalie on July 1. With the mandate handed down from up on high of Mt. Comcast, the Flyers were almost destined to overpay to make a goaltending controversy a thing of the past. Doubt that will actually solve anything for awhile, since it's Philadelphia, and you can't have hockey in Philadelphia without hearing about goaltending problems. However you want to look at it, Bryzgalov is the first, and best, clear cut number one goaltender they've had since Hextall in the late 80's. It's been something they've been searching for since 96-97 when the playoffs consisted of whoever played better the night before. The great and powerful Snider said it needs to stop, and for better or worse it has, and so the Flyers needed to pay. They would've "overpaid" whoever they ended up signing because they weren't going to be outbid. Similar to when Curtis Joseph and Felix Potvin were both UFAs, and the Flyers sign John Vanbiesbrouck instead. Yes Vokoun signed a 1.5 million dollar deal with Washington, but that was AFTER Colorado traded for the rights to Semyon Varlamov and signed Jean-Sebastian Giguere. It seems like Vokoun took the route of another former Flyers goaltender, Martin Biron, and priced himself out of the game. Looking at some of the "big name" goalie signings this July, it's not like last year. Dwayne Roloson signed for 3.5 million, and Mike Smith signed for 2 million. Vokoun had his eyes on a prize and it looks like he lost.

Round and Round...

goes the goalie carousel. The circus that is the Philadelphia Flyers goaltending situation has once again come to a head, this time on the brink of elimination from the playoffs. Once again the Flyers are mired in a "who's the #1 goalie" dilemma and at this point, the Flyers have no room for error, nor do they have time to work through this.

We'll be changing this blog a bit from the last Flyers goaltending blog, because let's face it, this is getting old for everyone. It's a broken record since the trading of Hextall to Quebec for the Lindros rights. In addition to breaking down the goalies on the roster, we'll be looking at the impending UFA's for July 1 to see who might be a good fix for this mess...if there is such a mythical beast.


Sergei Bobrovsky
We start with the brightest spot for the goaltenders. Simply put, Bobrovsky is the future of the Philadelphia Flyers in net for the foreseeable future. The man they call Bob, had a stellar outing to start the season but floundered down the stretch. The rigors of the NHL schedule, coupled to the faster pace of the North American game seemed to take their toll on the young netminder who never played more than 35 games in the season. In his rookie campaign he started 54 games, posting a 2.59 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. In his four playoff appearances this year (two starts, two in relief) his numbers rose, but was pulled early after a bad start in game 2 against Buffalo. His record is 0-1 with 3.50 goals-against average and .875 save percentage. While it's easy to say he was bad, he played absolutely beautifully in game 1 against buffalo, yielding only one goal, but was bested by Ryan Miller posting the shutout. If you have watched Bobrovsky play you know he is a young incredibly athletic netminder, and for playing without a goalie coach in Russia, he has an immense amount of raw talent. With a year or two in an NHL system, Bobrovsky will have time to develop the technical side to his game, because the athletic aspect seems to be covered quite well. He will also need to work on his puck handling as it certainly leaves something to be desired at the moment. However, barring a miracle season by Nic Riopel or Johan Backlund, Sergei Bobrovsky will be the man behind the mask.

Brian Boucher
The longest tenured Flyer goaltender, if you add up all his tours with Philadelphia organization, this being his 3rd, has had quite the story to tell. Traded to Phoenix with a 3rd round draft in 2002 for Michael Handzus and Robert Esche, then bouncing around the league, until he signed a minor league deal with the Phantoms in 07, then returning for this third tour with the Flyers in 2009. He has the most starts of anyone on the Flyers in the playoffs (42), so he has seen it all, including the 3-1 collapse against the Devils in 2000, as well as the 0-3 come from behind series win against the Boston Bruins. A well traveled journeyman, Boucher has proven his mettle more as a backup goaltender than a starter, although he does have the record for consecutive shutouts with 5. Boucher has seemingly embraced his role as the elder backup/mentor to the younger starter, a situation he knows the other side of as well. In the 1999-2000 playoff run, a younger Brian Boucher stole the starting job from veteran netminder John Vanbiesbrouck. Beezer took Boucher under his wing, and helped the young goalie with what can come along. Boucher has never been forgotten by the Flyer faithful, through all the ups and downs. Last year when injured during the Boston series, he was received warmly and loudly (see video)



Unfortunately, "Boosh" is an unrestricted free-agent, and with other goalies under contract, he will most likely be the odd man out at the end of the season. While he may not be the best or flashiest goalie in Flyers history, it seems that he will be one of the ones best remembered.

Micheal Leighton
What can be said about Michael Leighton? The man has seen almost as many teams as Mike Sillinger. A career that seemed destined to be a life of backing up, or playing in the minors took a turn last season when the Flyers, who were decimated by injures at the goalie position, claimed Leighton off wires from the Carolina Hurricanes. An insurance policy that stole the show not once, but twice. He took over for Boucher when he was injured and took the team on a dramatic run up the standings, until he too got bit by the injury bug with a high ankle sprain. Then on his first day back he had to replace Boucher who was injured in game 4 of the Boston series, and then backstopped the team to game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. Yes, let us not forget the dreadful goal he gave up to Patrick Kane to lose, but without Leighton it's a distinct possibility the Flyers would've been golfing by then. The biggest surprise to most Flyers fans came in the off season when GM Paul Holmgren decided to sign Leighton before the free agency period, seemingly passing on many other FA goaltenders. The icing on that cake was that Leighton was hiding a nagging back injury until after he signed his contract and was forced to leave a preseason game. He spent the majority of the early season on the IR, then appeared in one game (a win 4.00 GAA) and was sent to the minors to recuperate and get more playing time, as both Bobrovsky and Boucher were playing too well to upset the balance. Called up towards the end of the season, Leighton has seen action in two games this year. Coming in relief in game 5 against Buffalo where he was solid despite giving up the OT goal, but was dreadful in game 6. Doing his best Dan Cloutier impression, a beach ball would have easily passed him. Leighton signed a two year deal last summer so he will be on the roster in some fashion, barring a trade in the offseason.

It's worth noting that Johan Backlund is also under contract with the Flyers, but his playing time is almost as elusive as Neil Little's. Look for him to be down with the Phantoms again next season. Now onto the impending UFA market. All following information will be taken from Capgeek. It is also worth noting that the salary cap is expected to rise by approximately 3million, so the Flyers will have some much needed space, but will still need to shed salary to potentially sign some of the more high priced UFA's

For the sake of sanity, and time, here is the list of the top 10 UFA goaltenders salary wise. We will whittle it down before really diving in.

Player	Pos	Team	Age	Cap Hit	Expiry
Giguere, Jean-Sebastien »	G	TOR	33	$6,000,000	2011 (UFA)
Vokoun, Tomas »	G	FLA	34	$5,700,000	2011 (UFA)
Bryzgalov, Ilya »	G	PHO	30	$4,250,000	2011 (UFA)
Leclaire, Pascal »	G	OTT	28	$3,800,000	2011 (UFA)
Roloson, Dwayne »	G	TBL	41	$2,500,000	2011 (UFA)
Smith, Mike »	G	TBL	29	$2,200,000	2011 (UFA)
Hedberg, Johan »	G	NJD	38	$1,500,000	2011 (UFA)
Osgood, Chris »	G	DET	38	$1,416,667	2011 (UFA)
Turco, Marty »	G	CHI	35	$1,300,000	2011 (UFA)
Conklin, Ty »	G	STL	35	$1,300,000	2011 (UFA)

Immediately, let's strike off all backups off this list. So adios to Conklin, Osgood, Smith, Turco, Hedburg. That leaves the top 5 goalies on this list, but it's safe to say that Pascal Leclaire will be looking for work anywhere, but I can't even imagine the Flyers taking this kind of risk. So the four that are left are Giguere, Vokoun, Bryzgalov and Roloson. One would expect Roloson to either re-sign with Tampa Bay or retire, depending on their post season run so we rule him out. Giguere will certainly be available as Toronto has James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson on their roster, and Reimer has staked his claim to the starting position for the Leafs. Giguere also brings a winning pedigree, capturing both the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe trophy in 2007 with the (then) Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The drawbacks to Giguere are his potential salary demands and his durability. He has missed 20 games this season due to recurring groin/"lower body" injuries. While he isn't on par with Rick DiPietro in terms of injuries, it is a cause for concern. Wherever he ends up, the team will need a capable backup.

Tomas Vokoun has been one of the best goalies with a losing record. Playing down in Florida, he's averaging a save percentage of .923 and a goals-against average of 2.56. Respectable numbers for a goalie on a team that has been in the bottom of the league during his tenure. While that could be seen as a reflection of his abilities, it comes down to the team in front of him, which to be kind has been...well awful. There were surely be teams knocking on Vokoun's door July 1, and assuming his asking price is right, the Flyers are sure to have their fist on his door. Obvious drawbacks are that he has little playoff expirience, and he was a loser in both series, although his numbers were impressive.

Ilya Bryzgalov is the last on the list and is already being coveted by some, including one of the Flyer's beat writers. Since being claimed off waivers by the Phoenix Coyotes, Bryzgalov has been one of the best goaltenders in the league, helping to take Phoenix out of the basement and into the playoffs for consecutive seasons. He has posted 21 shutouts during his tenure in the desert, including 15 in the last two seasons. Ilya has become of the elite goaltenders in the league. With the ownership issue in Phoenix STILL unresolved and possibility of moving back to Winnipeg, a move Bryzgalov has already commented on with disapproval, he seems the most likely to move out of the desert. He is also the cheapest of the top three on the list, although he would most certainly be looking for a raise. His most recent playoff performance will call for some detractors to say he won't be worth it, but his track record over the past few seasons have been impressive, and at 30, there's still plenty of gas left in the tank.


A far more pressing concern will be finding the space to sign a new goaltender. While the cap is expected to rise, the Flyers have key FA's to re-sign and other line up issues to address. Whatever happens the rest of the playoffs for the Flyers, they will certainly need to find a way to fix the glaring problems not only in their net, but in front as well. Watching the Flyers, their team defense has been terrible, and they seemingly lack the heart of last season's team. At the end of the day, this season will be looked at as a failure, barring another miraculous come back and then hoisting the Cup, but the blue print for success is there. Now is the time to finally put them all together.