Report: Ilya Bryzgalov for Jeff Carter trade discussed (and that would be horrible)

From CSN Philly's Tim Panaccio today:

According to one league source, Phoenix's Ilya Bryzgalov might be a perfect fit for the Flyers.

The source, who is intimately familiar with the Russian, who turns 31 just days before he becomes a free agent, says Bryzgalov would relish becoming a Flyer.

"He would love the adulation he'd get in Philadelphia," the source said. "This is a big guy, who plays back in the net and can play a lot of games for the Flyers. Phoenix and the Flyers have had some talks this season about trades, including Jeff Carter.

Not that I don't give a damn what some anonymous league source thinks about the Flyers goaltending situation... but, uh, I don't care what some anonymous league source thinks about the Flyers goaltending situation.

Bryzgalov is a fantastic goaltender, but for many reasons, if an Ilya Bryzgalov for Jeff Carter swap went down (either via trade or by shedding Carter's salary after signing Bryzgalov in free agency), that would absolutely horrible for our team.

1. Bryzgalov is a head case. Panaccio's source, who says he'd be a great choice in goal, even admits as much, saying that "the one thing with Ilya, is that he sometimes gets off his game and can get a little goofy on you, and you have to sit him down and get his back on the path."

Yeah, uh, let's think about that. A head case goaltender in Philadelphia. Oh, and he's Russian. THIS MAKES NO SENSE. At the first sign of Bobby Abreu Syndrome (symptoms include a lackadaisical attitude and general aloofness), the violent, pitchfork-wielding masses would run the guy out of town. And Paul Holmgren would be on the end of the trident, too. 

2. Not worth it. We've already been over this in great detail, but a big-name goaltender like Ilya Bryzgalov just isn't worth the money. Geoff ran the numbers last week, and he'd earn the Flyers just about two extra wins over the course of a season.

And if you're one to brush off that stat because it won't matter come playoff time, he was relied upon by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2011 postseason. He was the great equalizer in their series with the Detroit Red Wings, and he simply didn't show up. They were swept, and a lot of it was his fault. Just saying.

3. He'll want more money. Bryzgalov had a cap hit of $4.25 million on his last contract. That's going up, as he's a free agent come July 1. If you're trading Jeff Carter, you A) sure as hell be doing it with the assurance that you're going to re-sign Bryzgalov before July and B) that new deal better be relatively cap-friendly.

4. You're losing Jeff Carter. No. 17 has his haters that will never go away. There are plenty of them around, and shit, I'm included on that list to a certain extent. But the facts are the facts, and Carter had one of the best years of his career in 2010-11. He's a defensively responsible center that be trusted on the ice in just about all situations and he's a pure goal scorer, despite the fact that he misses the net quite a bit.

Hate him if you want. Make your Sea Isle City jokes. Players like Jeff Carter don't grow on trees, and the addition of Bryzgalov plus the subtraction of Carter is almost definitely a net-loss in the end, especially when you consider the money. Don't do it, Homer.

MORE: Of course, there's always the possibility that the Flyers could just sign the guy in July without giving up anything, but with the cap, they're going to be giving up a big contract to sign him. Likely Carter, you'd have to think, given the news that they've already discussed trading him. Equally as bad. Same thing, really.