Veteran goalie and amateur cosmonaut Ilya Bryzgalov is headed back to where it all started.
Per ESPN, Bryzgalov is set to join the Anaheim Ducks on a tryout basis, returning him to the club he broke in with during the 2001-02 campaign -- and the one he captured a Stanley Cup with in 2007.
The 34-year-old netminder will join Anaheim after the team suffered a rash of injuries in goal: John Gibson, the club’s prized rookie prospect, is out ‘til late December with a groin ailment; journeyman Jason LaBarbera, who replaced Gibson as Frederik Andersen’s backup, is dealing with an upper-body injury.
The ailments have forced the Ducks to roll with an Andersen-Igor Bobkov tandem lately, which is high on promise but low on NHL experience. Bobkov’s never played in the NHL and Andersen still only has 48 games on his resume.
As for Bryzgalov, this will mark his fourth team in three seasons. He was bought out of his mega-deal by the Flyers following the lockout-shortened ’13 campaign, then split last season between Edmonton and Minnesota.
Bryzgalov returned to the Wild for this year’s training camp, but didn’t sign with the club following the end of the exhibition campaign.
