PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers’ ownership of the hockey spotlight continued late Thursday afternoon when the club reportedly signed goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to a nine-year deal.

Bryzgalov’s contract is worth a reported $51 million US.

The 31-year-old’s rights were acquired by the Flyers from Phoenix earlier in June.

The signing followed a frantic afternoon of activity. The Flyers shipped both Jeff Carter and captain Mike Richards out of town in separate deals.

Richards was traded to Los Angeles for forwards Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and a second-round draft pick. Carter was sent to Columbus for Jakub Voracek plus a first- and a third-round draft pick.

The move cleared up considerable cap space for Philadelphia. A good portion of the space was used to sign Bryzgalov, who could have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Carter’s contract has 11 years remaining that carries an annual cap hit of a little more than $5.272 million US.

Richards has four years remaining on his deal. His cap hit is $5.75 million.

In 68 games with the Coyotes last season, Bryzgalov collected 36 wins and posted a 2.48 goals-against average with a .921 save percentage.