The Flyers set an NHL record by pulling their goalie seven times in eleven playoff games. Team chairman Ed Snyder said it's "Something I never want to see again." So not surprisingly, this offseason is likely to be dominated by the Flyers search for the mythic "#1 goalie." So we will have this dedicated stream to keep you up to date on all the news, rumors and baseless speculation about the netminder situation as the offseason wears on.
First and foremost, the strongest report yet is about Phoenix goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who is set to be a free agent this summer and will be turning 31. CSNPhilly's Tim Panaccio cited a source who said that Bryzgalov would "relish" the idea of playing in Philadelphia and that the team has had discussions with the Coyotes about him in the past.
The question is whether the Flyers would need to swing a trade for the veteran before he hits free agency or whether they could wait until he walks from Phoenix. It's likely that the Coyotes will try to get something for him. Other free agents the Flyers could have interest in include Tomas Vokoun and Evgeni Nabokov (who may or may not even be a free agent).
Chuck Gormley of Delawareonline says he doesn't think the Flyers will limit themselves to the free agent market.
There are whispers that they may make a pitch for Buffalo's Ryan Miller, the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist, Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff, Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom or, yes, New Jersey's Martin Brodeur.
Some of those names may seem farfetched... and I agree. Gormley said that Kiprusoff and Backstrom are the most realistic possibilities. However, it should be noted that Kiprusoff will be 35 and has three more years on a deal that's going to pay him upwards of $6 million per. That would be a rough proposition for a team already against the cap.