The Phoenix Coyotes have traded the negotiation rights of goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Matt Clackson, a third-round pick in the 2012 draft, and future considerations.
The deal gives the Flyers an exclusive window to negotiate a new contract with the 30-year-old Russian before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
"We'll see what we can do," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren told the Associated Press. "He's certainly not an old goaltender. We feel like he's got a lot of good years left in him. We'll see how it goes. When you get into a negotiation like this, you're dealing with a salary cap and you try and get a number you can live with."
Clackson's contract expires on June 30, meaning Phoenix has the same opportunity to discuss a deal with Clackson before he also becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Bryzgalov went 36-20-10 for the Coyotes last season in 68 games with a 2.48 goals against average and seven shutouts.
He earned $4.5 million last year in the final season of a three-year, $12.75 million deal with Phoenix.
"After several discussions with Ilya and his agent, it became very clear to us that we were not in a position to sign Ilya to a long-term contract," said Coyotes' general manager Don Maloney in a statement. "We will now focus our efforts on adding another goaltender to our roster for the upcoming season."
Bryzgalov has split his seven NHL seasons between Anaheim and Phoenix. He was drafted by the Ducks in the second round of the 2000 entry draft, and played for them until he was claimed off waivers by the Coyotes in November, 2007.
He won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007 as back-up to J-S Giguere, and was named as an NHL second team All-Star in 2009-10.
