WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Its been a strange couple of days for Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, thats for certain.
On Wednesday, the tall Russian delivered an impassioned speech about how much he loved his former teammates in Phoenix, and how he wanted to publicly thank the organization for helping him advance his career.
On Thursday, two of those former teammates, Derek Morris and Adrian Aucoin, ripped him on Phoenix radio for being a bad teammate, who gave up bad goals at the wrong time and said the wrong things after games.
On Friday, Bryzgalov publicly apologized to Winnipeg fans for disparaging remarks he made about the city of less than 700,000 last season when there were rumors the Coyotes might be headed here.
The Flyers meet the Jets this afternoon.
You know, lets make this straight once and for and all, Bryzgalov told reporters from the Winnipeg Free Press and Globe and Mail.
We were losing, I was disappointed, first of all. And second of all, I didnt want to move anywhere. Im pretty sure good people, beautiful people, live in Winnipeg. Im pretty sure there are passionate fans.
NHL
I didnt mean it and I didnt want to offend anybody. Sincerely, I apologize if I offended anybody and fans in Canada and Winnipeg. I didnt mean it.
Bryzgalov may be Russian, but he is the first to admit he cant stand cold weather. He loved the sun in Phoenix.
Also, wherever he lives, he tries to find pockets of Russian culture. In Philly, much of that culture is centered in the Somerton section of the city. In other parts of the U.S. and Canada, its hard to find.
And Winnipeg?
Not many people live there, not many Russian people there, he said. Plus it's cold. There's no excitement except the hockey. No park, no entertaining for the families, for the kids. It's going to be tough life for your family.
I've been there for just once, maybe twice, when I play in minors. It was really cold. I used the tunnels between the buildings to get to the arena. Because it was minus 40-something. Real cold.
This morning in Winnipeg, it was real cold: -6 F.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net