"Now that the Flyers have acquired the rights to coveted goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, all they need to do is find a way to squeeze his exorbitant salary demands under the NHL salary cap.

And that means the next shoe may be about to drop.

Paul Holmgren made another coup Tuesday night when he traded a third-round draft pick in 2012, along with the rights to minor-league enforcer Matt Clackson, to the Phoenix Coyotes for the negotiating rights to Bryzgalov.

If the Flyers and Bryzgalov can agree to a contract, the Flyers will owe the Coyotes another lower-round draft pick.

If not, then Holmgren would have struck out two years in a row in his attempt to get a jump on 29 other teams before the July 1 opening bell for NHL free agency.

Last year, the Flyers acquired the rights to goaltender Evgeni Nabokov and defenseman Dan Hamhuis but failed to sign either player and lost Ryan Parent and a seventh-round pick in the process.

To sign Bryzgalov, the Flyers are going to need to be very creative.

The 30-year-old Russian netminder earned $4.5 million last season and is seeking a long-term contract with a sizable raise. The only way to keep Bryzgalov's cap hit under $5 million is to give him a contract of five or more years that decreases in value at the end of the deal.

Even so, the Flyers will need to shed at least $5 million in salary to make room for Bryzgalov, and that means any combination of center Jeff Carter ($5.3 million), right wing Kris Versteeg ($3.1 million) or defenseman Matt Carle ($3.4 million) likely will be traded before the June 24 draft."