Ever since
Ilya Bryzgalov made the decision to sign with CSKA Moscow for the duration of the NHL lockout, people have questioned the wisdom of the signing. Apart from the international media publicity the team received in holding its introductory press conference for Bryzgalov and Detroit Red Wings superstar Pavel Datsyuk, there was little need for Bryzgalov on the famed Red Army club.
CSKA already has a top-flight KHL goaltender in former Washington Capitals netminder Rastislav Stana. While one might think that an established NHL starter in his prime would be an automatic upgrade in goal over a player who only had a brief NHL stint and primarily played in the minors and Europe, that is not necessarily the case.
All a good KHL team needs to win is a good KHL goalie. Stana was CSKA's guy before Bryzgalov arrived. He will be their guy after Bryzgalov leaves, assuming the NHL season isn't canceled and Stana remains healthy. So it kind of figured that CSKA head coach Valeri Bragin was going to give Stana the bulk of the playing time, even with Bryzgalov on hand. The fact that Stana put up the best numbers in the league while Bryzgalov struggled in spot duty made the decision that much easier for Bragin.
Things got a little more interesting this past week. CSKA has played inconsistently this season, and got dismantled in a marquee game against Dynamo Moscow before the schedule break. As a result, Bragin was dismissed as head coach.
Former Flyers player Vyacheslav Butsayev has been promoted from assistant coach to interim head coach of CSKA. Twenty years ago, Butsayev was considered a potential two-way impact player in the NHL after starring for CKSA and being one of the standout players in the 1992 Olympics. But it never worked out over here.
Butsayev never adapted his game to the NHL style, and never put much effort into learning English or fitting in with his non-Russian teammates in the lockerroom. There were a few flashes of the ability that convinced the Flyers they could ultimately withstand the trade of 1991 first-round pick Peter Forsberg in the Eric Lindros deal, but those occasional teases were just about all the Flyers got out of the young Russian. Subsequent NHL stops in San Jose, Anaheim, Tampa Bay and Ottawa did not go any better, although Butsayev was a top-flight player in the now-defunct IHL as well as in Europe.
This is actually Butsayev's second stint as interim coach. He finished up last season after the team abruptly fired Julius Supler shortly before the start of the playoffs. The second stint figures to be another short tenure. The Russian press has widely reported that CSKA already has another full-time candidate lined up and it is only a matter of working out final details.
It has been said that former Flyers assistant coach Andy Murray (who later went on to coach the St. Louis Blues and numerous European teams) will get the job. However, that is not official at this point.
Bryzgalov played well in his final two starts before the break but finished up the pre-break portion of the schedule back on the bench. It will be interesting to see if his playing time increases under Butsayev and/or Murray or another coach.
Of course, if there is an NHL settlement soon, Bryzgalov will be on his way back to Philadelphia. But with the nuclear winter between the NHLPA and NHL escalating, there's an increased chance that the NHL players in Europe will be there into the holidays -- and possibly for the rest of the season.
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