Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

A New Start For Mason, Perhaps The End For Bryzgalov

04/03/2013 at 8:28pm EDT

from Sam Carchidi of Broad Street Bull,

“We still think there’s a tremendous upside there,” Holmgren said, adding that goalie coach Jeff Reese was high on Mason.

"Every goaltender wants a fresh start,” Mason said.

Mason is viewed as an upgrade over Leighton, but he is also a lot more expensive. If the Flyers keep Bryzgalov next year _ that’s a big (ital)if(end ital) at the moment _ and Mason re-signs for around his current salary, the Flyers will have about $8.6 million committed to their goalies next season.

They probably would not be getting enough bang for their buck.

Acquiring Mason could mean the Flyers will “amnesty” Bryzgalov next year and try to sign an unrestricted free agent goalie in the off-season. The most attractive candidates: Ray Emery, Jimmy Howard, Mike Smith and Niklas Backstrom.

After this year, Bryzgalov, 32, will be owed a total of $34.5 million over the last seven years. If he is bought out, the Flyers would have to pay two-thirds of that salary, but none of that would count against their cap.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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