PHILADELPHIA - Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, two key cogs in the Philadelphia Flyers' run to the Stanley Cup finals a year ago, were both traded in a pair of separate stunning trades that shakes up the franchise on the eve of the draft.
The moves on Thursday cleaned house — and cleared needed salary cap space to sign goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. Later in the day, the Flyers announced they signed the franchise goalie to a multi-year contract. The Flyers acquired the rights to Bryzgalov, 31, earlier this month in a deal with the Phoenix Coyotes.
The Flyers moved over US$100 million in salary in Thursday's deals that sent Richards to the Los Angeles Kings and Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Richards and Carter still had plenty of years remaining on monster contracts — Richards has nine years left on a 12-year extension he signed in 2007, and Carter agreed in November to a $58-million, 11-year pact.
Richards was traded for Kings' forwards Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds and a second-round pick. The Flyers acquired forward Jake Voracek and the club's first- and third-round picks from the Blue Jackets.
Philadelphia won the Atlantic Division title last season with 106 points, but was swept in the second round by the Boston Bruins, who eventually won the Stanley Cup.
The Flyers' post-season run was short-lived because of problems in net. In the 11-game post-season, Philadelphia used three goaltenders with little success: Sergei Bobrovsky, Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton. Bryzgalov would help to solve that three-pronged problem in net.
But Philadelphia paid a steep price to find some peace between those pipes.
Richards, 26, spent the last three seasons as team captain. He scored 133 goals and had 349 points in 453 games since making his debut with the Flyers in 2005.
"We felt, at this stage of the franchise, it was time to make a significant move for an impact player," Kings president and general manager Dean Lombardi said. "Mike Richards is not only one of the top players in the league, he's also universally recognized as one of the finer leaders in the game and one of its elite competitors."
Richards had 66 points this season. A year ago, he led the Flyers in points (62) and was second in goals (31), while leading the Flyers within two victories of their first championship since 1975.
Carter, 26, has 181 goals in his six full seasons in the NHL, all with the Flyers. He has had 46, 33 and 36 the last three seasons.
The six-foot-three, 200-pounder's salary-cap hit next season will be $5.27 million.
Exit Carter and Richards. Welcome to Ilya-delphia.
A Vezina Trophy finalist in 2009-10, Bryzgalov went 36-20-10 with a 2.48 goals-against average and seven shutouts last season, but had some shaky moments as Phoenix was swept from the playoffs by Detroit in the first round of the playoffs.
Bryzgalov and his agent, Ritch Winter, spent two days last week in Philadelphia hammering out details of the contract, and visiting the city.
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