Bryzgalov's GAA jumped to 3.46 in the playoffs. (Getty Images)

There was a lot of angry Philadelphia fans when the finalists for the GM of the Year were announced and Flyers boss Paul Holmgren didn't make the cut.

People pointed to the offseason makeover and the team's strong success as a sign that he was snubbed. The team was still winning despite gutting the nucleus of his team. Of course, it didn't hurt either that it came when the Flyers were putting the screws to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.

But I had no problem with it. All season long in our Awards Races tracker, Holmgren didn't make my top GM lists either. The biggest reason I was a skeptic? I just couldn't get over that move to sign Ilya Bryzgalov for nine seasons and $51 million.

With one season (and postseason) down, I don't think many in Philly are liking the looks of it right now either.

The idea behind it was basic. The Flyers could score but they couldn't defend. They couldn't find that goalie who could carry them in the playoffs. So they decided to go pay big bucks to get a big-buck goaltender and the summer transformation began. The driving force was more playoff success as Michael Leighton, Brian Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky weren't proving to be the answer.

Unfortunately for the Flyers, neither was Bryzgalov.

So they invested all that money and time in the form of contractual years and the performance actually declined? I have one word for that: Yikes!

Clearly the Bryzzly Bear wasn't up to snuff in the postseason. Really, he wasn't even for the regular season. Even with his insane March, when Bryzgalov had a 2.48 goals against average and .909 save percentage. Before the great finish to the season, his save percentage was hovering below .900, the Mendoza line for goaltenders, if such a thing existed.

But no play exemplifies his season more than the series-clinching goal from David Clarkson in Game 5 on Tuesday night. Bryzgalov attempted to clear the puck on his stick and instead threw it at Clarkson and it bounced right back and through Bryzgalov's pads.

The tough part about it all is that they are pretty well stuck with this arrangement. It's kind of hard to reverse course when you give such a "humongous big" contract out and Year 1 doesn't exactly go as planned.

Who knows, maybe another offseason to get adjusted to living in Philly will do the trick and Bryzgalov will show that he was worth the massive risk Holmgren took by acquiring him. But I'll say this: Mike Smith's other-worldly success for the Coyotes, who are still playing, isn't a comforting thought for Flyers faithful. Smith wasn't very good before getting to Phoenix and is now mentioned in the "best goalies in the game" conversation.

Let me put it to you: Do you feel the Flyers will ever be able to get over the hump with Bryzgalov as their goaltender?

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