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Bryzgalov to Wild, Fasth to Oilers, as Edmonton continues to juggle goalies

It's difficult to keep up with the movement in the Edmonton Oilers' crease. The club began this season with a goaltending tandem of Devan Dubnyk and Jason LaBarbera. Midway through the year, they brought in Ilya Bryzgalov.

On Tuesday, on the eve of the trade deadline, they made another series of moves, bringing in Viktor Fasth from the goalie-rich Anaheim Ducks and, to make room, moving Ilya Bryzgalov to the Minnesota Wild for a fourth-round pick.

That's right. Bryzgalov to the Wild. Not Martin Brodeur.

Bryzgalov had better hope he's got that fear of bears under control. He'll be wearing one on his jersey. (Yes, that's a bear. Let's not argue about the intricacies of the Wild's new logo).

The Wild have been rumoured to be in the market for a goalie for months now, thanks in large part to the uncertainty in their crease, with Josh Harding battling complications with his MS medication, and Nicklas Backstrom battling through injury. Darcy Kuemper has been filling the void in the meantime, and admirably -- he was one of the NHL's Three Stars this week -- but they needed an insurance policy.

The Wild have been tied to names like Brodeur and Jaroslav Halak, but it seems like they're confident enough in Kuemper to find him a partner as opposed to a replacement. That's where Bryz comes in.

He's is a fine choice. He comes cheap, for one thing, and for another, if anybody knows how to shut down crease drama, it's him.

As for the Oilers, this is a smart move for them. The Ducks needed to jettison a goalie, and Fasth has the potential to push Scrivens for the starting job. With Scrivens on a two-year show-me contract, and Fasth making $2.9 million a season over the same span, the Oilers now have two guys who could stake a claim to be their number one in the future.

I don't see this burning Minnesota. Bryz is an insurance policy anyway. And I don't see it burning Edmonton. But this could conceivably burn the Ducks, if Fasth is able to grab this opportunity and run with it. We'll give this one two Milburys: