As we noted Thursday, the citizens of Vancouver responded in an inspiring way after the ugly riots that followed the Canucks' Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. That included turning the wooden boards on the Hudson Bay store's broken windows into giant message centers for citizens to express their feelings.
Clearly, someone sees former Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov as the Mahatma Gandhi of the hockey world, spreading his message of serenity and pacifism during the city's darkest hour.
So that the next time an anarchistic element rises up like so much sewage to pollute Vancouver's streets and poison its reputation, the people can stand up in one voice and ask, "WHY YOU HEFF TO BE MAD?"
Speaking of the Bryz, he and his agent met with Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, goaltending coach Jeff Reese, general manager Paul Holmgren and team president Peter Luukko regarding a free-agent contract with the team. From Frequent Flyers:
Holmgren issued this statement on Friday afternoon: "We have spoken with Ilya and his agent Ritch Winter about many different scenarios. As for now, we both know each other's position and have agreed to speak again next week. There will be no further comment at this time."
That is to say, the Flyers have seen Bryzgalov's demands - which have been reported as lofty since the Coyotes dealt his rights to Philadelphia on June 7 - and need at least the weekend to think about how to proceed. Bryzgalov has been reportedly seeking a 6-year deal worth close to $6 million per season, which would chew up nearly 10 percent of the Flyers' entire salary cap.
"Why you heff such a large price tag …?"
s/t to Nima Algooneh for the image.