During the recent offseason the Philadelphia Flyers signed former Phoenix Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to a nine-year, $51 million contract. The signing of the veteran net minder was perceived as Philadelphia obtaining the last piece of the proverbial puzzle for their Stanley Cup aspirations. Mike Smith replaced Bryzgalov in Phoenix and his performance this season has made Coyotes fan forget about their former net minder.
In 2011-12 Smith took over goal tending full time and responded with a stellar season thus far. The fifth-year pro, who was originally drafted in the fifth round by Dallas, has taken advantage of his first opportunity to be the full time goalie. In July of 2011 he was signed to a two-year contract reportedly valued at $4 million. At the time Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney was very pleased with the addition of Smith.
“We are very pleased to sign Mike to a multi-year contract,” said Maloney in July, 2011. “Mike is a big, talented goaltender who we feel will excel in our system. We are excited to have him join us in the desert.”
This season Smith’s stats are similar to Bryzgalov and in some categories he has outplayed his predecessor. In hindsight the acquisition was a great bargain, especially when opposed to Bryzgalov’s $51 million deal with Philadelphia. 2011-12 statistics, as of 1.18.2012:
Smith: 17-11-6, 2.32 GAA, .944 SV%, 2 SO
Bryzgalov: 17-10-3, 3.00 GAA, .893 SV%, 1 SO
To a certain degree Bryzgalov has also been outplayed by his backup, Sergei Bobrovsky, who is 10-3-1, 2.42 GAA with a .921 SV%. Simply put, it has been a trying year for the former Coyotes goalie.
Bryzgalov was a solid goalie for the Coyotes during his four-seasons in Phoenix. During his final two-seasons with Phoenix he was a key member of a team with back to back playoff appearances. Overall he was 130-93-27, with a 2.48 GAA and 21-shutouts.
Bryzgalov gained notoriety recently with his odd insights into a wide variety of subjects during his appearances on HBO’s four-part series 24/7 Flyers/Rangers: Road To The Winter Classic. With cameras rolling on the NHL’s only reality show the goalie was afforded the opportunity to express his unique views to a large audience. This was readily apparent during a conversation between Bryzgalov and teammate Harry Zolnierczyk.
Bryzgalov: "Siberian Husky. She's all white. Beautiful blue eyes. That's basically blonde girl with blue eyes. Your dream, man."
Zolnierczyk: "So you're comparing women to your Huskies?"
Bryzgalov: "My husky, basically, she's a hot girl, man."
His unique perspective on the beauty of Siberian Huskies aside, Bryzgalov was benched for two-games, including the Winter Classic, due to his waning performance. In the four-games before the Winter Classic he gave up 16-goals and the Flyers lost all four-contests.
By contrast, Smith has been rock steady in the net for the Coyotes in the New Year. In six-starts in 2012 he is 2-1-3 with a 1.46 GAA and a .956 SV%. Though the Coyotes are reeling as of late, blame cannot be put on Smith who has raised his game while they fight for respectability and a third-straight playoff berth in the Western Conference. The Coyotes currently have 21-wins and 17 of them were gained by Smith’s stellar goal tending.
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