The Globe and Mail

Mysterious note from the Anaheim Ducks this morning: Back-up goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov will be placed on waivers at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time today - a few minutes ago. He would clear waivers tomorrow at the same time, if no claims are put in. Bryzgalov is not with the team in San Jose, where the Ducks - coming off back-to-back wins over their Los Angeles rivals, the Kings - play their next game. Presumably, the decision to waive Bryzgalov means attempts to trade him have been unsuccessful and that the Ducks would consider losing him for the price of his contract (according to the NHL players' association web site, he earns $1.3625 million this season) and give the job of backing up J.S. Giguere to Jonas Hiller, who they signed as a free agent last summer. Among the teams that might be interested in Bryzgalov: The Sharks and the Calgary Flames, both of whom have used their respective starters, Evgeni Nabokov and Miikka Kiprsuoff for every game this year, an indication that - salary-cap permitting - they might be in the market for an established back-up, rather than trust the youngsters that they're carrying on their rosters at the moment. And of course, if Bryzgalov clears, the Ducks can always call him right back up, which would permit teams to claim him for half that dollar amount on re-entry waivers. Stay tuned.