Bryzgalov has become 'one of the leaders' for Wild
/Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher was on Hockey Central @ Noon Tuesday. Among the topics covered was Ilya Bryzgalov, who has played really well since being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline.
Fletcher pointed out he didn't feel the Wild could pay the sort of price the St. Louis Blues did to get Ryan Miller, so trading for Bryzgalov also allowed the team to get Matt Moulson and Cody McCormick in under the cap.
"I spent four years with Ilya in Anaheim and am very, very familiar with him. He was down in Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and I was down 20, 30 games a year. Spent a lot of time with him over the years and certainly know him. He's quirky. Again, he's the type of guy who either endears himself to certain people, or repels certain people.
"But he's a bright guy, he means well and he's a talented goaltender and he's fit in very well with our room. He's not overly-serious. Again, we have a lot of young players, a lot of players that are trying to learn how to win in the NHL and last year at times I thought there was a lot of tension in our room, particularly down the stretch. This year there's a completely different feel in the room and a guy like Ilya has really helped. He's become one of the leaders in that group and our top players have embraced him. That's the key and right now things are going well."
Fletcher addressed Bryzgalov's recent retirement comment, which led to this comment about the Wild players that has to make you smile.
'They're all lining up to sit with him at lunch too, so it's been interesting to watch."
Fletcher also gave an update on Josh Harding and addressed a question about Ryan Suter's high ice time.