The Edmonton Oilers have traded goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to Minnesota for a fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft.
Bryzgalov is a pending unrestricted free agent with a .908 save percentage in 20 appearances this season. The 33-year-old was signed as a free agent in November, in what was seen at the time as a desperation move by the Oilers.
Meanwhile, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register was the first to report that the Oilers have acquired goalie Viktor Fasth from the Ducks, apparently for a fifth-rounder in 2014 and a third in 2015.
Fasth was a revelation early last season, but has struggled in limited appearances for Anaheim this season. The 31-year-old is signed through next season for a cap hit of $2.9 million, after which he can become an unrestricted free agent.
The Oilers also signed goalie Ben Scrivens to a two-year contract extension yesterday.
For Anaheim, the Fasth trade makes sense if they intend to re-sign their pending UFA netminder Jonas Hiller. And even if they don’t, they have young goalies Frederik Andersen and John Gibson in the system.
For Minnesota, Bryzgalov gives them insurance, and possibly even a starter, for the playoffs. Darcy Kuemper has played well of late, but is still inexperienced. Niklas Backstrom has struggled with inconsistency and injuries, and Josh Harding has been forced to deal with complications from MS.
#mnwild picks up roughly 475K of Bryzgalov's cap hit/cash by my math. If Fletcher wanted, can still add roughly $3M player w/o giving up one
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 4, 2014
Ducks recalled G Frederik Andersen.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) March 4, 2014