Talks done for now, Flyers show Bryzgalov the town

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Friday, June 17, 2011
Posted: 1:57 p.m.Updated: 3:06 p.m.By Tim PanaccioCSNPhilly.com

This time, there were no major powwows with club chairman Ed Snider or Flyers president Peter Luukko.

Instead, the Flyers showed Ilya Bryzgalov and his wife, Jeniya, around the Philadelphia area, trying to give them a sense of what it might be like to live here.

That was Fridays focus, according to sources, while general manager Paul Holmgren and agent Ritch Winter were slated to talk, either in person or on the phone, before all parties went their separate ways this weekend.

That there were no formal talks with all Flyers brass present would indicate that genuine progress has been made to sign Bryzgalov, though a source said a deal still was not complete.

All indications from the Flyers is that things went well and no one will leave town worried something wont get done.

The majority of hard negotiating, apparently, was completed Thursday.

We have spoken with Ilya and his agent Ritch Winter about many different scenarios," Holmgren said in a statement. "As for now, we both know each others position and have agreed to speak again next week."

Ideally, Holmgren would like to have a deal in place before he goes to next weekends NHL Draft in Minnesota so he can move players for draft picks (the Flyers dont have a first- or second-round pick).

Heres the rub: its entirely possible that the Flyers already have the framework for a deal with Bryzgalov, but its unfinished. Even if the deal got done this weekend, the Flyers cant announce it until June 30.

Why? Because this is where the tagging issue comes in under the CBA. The new salary cap is slated to be announced on June 30. At present, the Flyers have less than 450,000 in cap space for next season under the current cap ceiling of 59.4 million.

Once Bryzgalov signs the contract, the Flyers have to move players and money because they would exceed the tagging space for next season. It has been reported the cap will rise to between 62.2 and 63.5 million for next season.

Also, its to Holmgrens advantage not to announce a deal until he trades a player or players. That way, other clubs dont hold the Flyers up to ransom, knowing they have to be cap compliant.

No matter how you cut it, the Flyers need to move about 5 million in salary because they also want to go into next season with some cap room for injury purposes.

Suffice to say, a lot will happen next week leading intoand throughthe draft.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net. Follow him on Twitter at @TPanochCSN.

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