Ilya Bryzgalov opens up about how it ended with Flyers

PHILADELPHIA — Misunderstood? Sometimes.

Entertaining? Always.

Honest? Perhaps too much.

Ilya Bryzgalov made a return to Wells Fargo Center Thursday night, only he wasn't in pads.

The former Flyers goalie, who is being paid nearly $2 million a year until 2027 thanks to a compliance buyout, was at the rink as a friend of Alex Ovechkin.

Back in June of 2011, the Flyers gave Bryzgalov a nine-year, $51 million contract. He was supposed to be the answer. By 2013, the answer was to cut him loose.

There were some bad times for Bryzgalov, now 35, like being benched for the 2012 Winter Classic or being muzzled for most of his second season with the Flyers.

"You know, I’m not regretting anything to be honest," Bryzgalov said hanging out with Ovechkin outside the Washington Capitals locker room after their 5-2 beating of the Flyers. "When I played here, I do my best. Give it all to the team. I maybe have misunderstandings with the coach, with teammates, with the media. But it’s all because I wanted to give my best. I give all my soul, all my passion to the team."

Thursday night he was among the fans, sitting in the fifth row of Wells Fargo Center and had pleasant interactions with the Flyers fans. For as much as he may have been booed and ridiculed in his two seasons in Philadelphia, all is forgotten now.

"There is no hard feelings between me and the fan base or the City of Philadelphia or something like that," Bryzgalov said. "I was sitting watching the game and people were very nice. The first time I came back to the building was today. I didn’t know what to expect, but people from Philadelphia and New Jersey have always been very kind and nice to me. Like I said, I always liked it here. If I see something, I can’t help saying something to the coach or maybe to somebody else to maybe help the team with the effort. If maybe it will help us start playing better, I will say that. Because I don’t have perfect English or maybe I’m not politically correct, I can’t address the issues right and there’s a misunderstanding."

It seemed like there were many misunderstandings in his second year with the Flyers, Peter Laviolette's last full season as coach of the team. The outspoken goalie admitted that he was indeed silenced by the team before they bought out the remaining seven years of his contract. At times, they wouldn't let him speak to the media. He finished his career with the Flyers 52-33-10 record to go with a 2.60 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. Those aren't exactly franchise goalie numbers, but Bryzgalov couldn't really be himself, either.

“I guess it’s a scary moment when you’re trying to stop being yourself because you’re going to lose your identity," he said. "It’s funny thing. I travel around the world a lot and wherever I go people are always saying, ‘Bryz, you have the best interviews.’ Fans, they appreciate it. It may be tough for the club or organization to handle my quotes. But people loved it and this is the entertainment business."

Bryzgalov was nothing if not entertaining.

By October 2013, a few months after the Flyers bought him out, he went to the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL on a tryout, but never signed a contract. Legend has it he took his teammates, all of them, to a diner for breakfast saying the meal was , "courtesy of the Flyers."

There may have been some bad blood for a while, but the statute of limitations has passed on that. He's happy to coach his 9-year-old son Vladi and stick around the area. At one time life was difficult in the area for Bryzgalov, but he's outgrown that.

"I was just a player. I can’t change the people’s opinion," Bryzgalov said. "I am who I am. I tried to do best as I can on the ice for the team every night. Sometimes there were bad goals and bad games, but it’s all part of the process. It’s a hockey game. We’re the humans. We make those mistakes. We’re in the NHL because we make those mistakes less than other people."

Dave Isaac; (856) 486-2479; disaac@gannettnj.com