Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider "didn't pick" Ilya Bryzgalov before the team signed him to a nine-year, $51 million contract.
"That's not my job," Snider continued. "Our staff picked Bryz of the available goaltenders and (general manager) Paul Holmgren basically decided that was the guy he wanted. My role in the whole thing was to say, `We've got to get a quality goaltender. We can't go through what we went through that year with the goaltending in the (2010) playoffs.' I think we would have won that Cup (instead of losing in the Final to Chicago) if we had been a little more solid at the time in goal and not switching around so often. The point is that I don't get involved. I don't ever say, `I'm signing this player.' I don't know enough about the players. We have scouts. We have Paul Holmgren. We have all the people that work for Paul that make these decisions." There has been speculation in the past that Snider was largely responsible for the Flyers getting Bryzgalov specifically, so when asked about it, he wanted to set the record straight. Bryzgalov's time in Philadelphia has been

Claude Giroux continues to play well for Canada at the IIHF World Championships.
He has two goals and six points in five games, second in team scoring behind Steven Stamkos. Although Giroux was a point-per-game player in 2013, those who drafted him were a little disappointed. Look for Giroux to rebound and register 90-plus points in a full season in 2013-14.

There are rumblings out of Philly that the Flyers should trade Ilya Bryzgalov and go with Steve Mason as their starter next season.
This speculation is not new. However, the Flyers are going to have to do one superlative sales job to move Bryzgalov and his $5.6 million per season over each of the next seven years. We remain skeptical.