The Bobrovsky Watch

At this time last year, the speculation of where John Tavares was going to was among the top and consistent story in the NHL last year, as the former New York Islanders captain was heading to free agency, in which he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. With Tyler Seguin resigning with the Dallas Stars and Erik Karlsson not able to resign with the San Jose Sharks until at least March, there are not really any offensive stars that have the hype and anticipation of where they might sign this summer as they head towards unrestricted free agency. Even though that is the case, there is a top tier goalie that is heading towards free agency this summer that could create as much of hype as Tavares did. With the 2 time Vezina Trophy winner as the best goalie in the league, Sergei Bobrovsky is in his final year of his contract and also is looking to cash in on a big contract next summer. With the Columbus Blue Jackets being a team that not only makes the playoffs, only to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, are a team that is not necessarily keen on signing a player to a huge contract, especially to their all star goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky. With Bobrovsky turning 30 years old last month, and eyeing a contract comparable to Montreal Canadiens goalie, Carey Price of $10.5 million a year, it could be too rich for the Blue Jackets. Despite the fact that the desired contract that Bobrovsky wants is potentially too rich for the Blue Jackets, there are multiple teams that are capable and willing to pay for a top tier goalie like Bobrovsky. With teams like the Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, and New York Islanders having their starting goalie also heading to free agency; these teams would relish the idea of upgrading their goaltending, especially since all these teams have had star calibre goaltending for the last few years. These 4 teams would like the opportunity of having Bobrovsky in net to help bolster their team’s chances at not only the playoffs, but even at a Stanley Cup potentially. With having average to subpar goalies like Mike Smith, Jimmy Howard, Cam Talbot, and Robin Lehner set to have their contracts expire; see these teams aggressively pursue Bobrovsky this summer. In addition, teams like Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers, Bobrovsky’s former team, would ideally like to have a top tier goalie added to their roster as well, especially since the Ottawa Senators are in a midst of a rebuild and would really like to jumpstart it, but these two teams also have promising young star goalie waiting in the wings to be future superstar goalies. Although Filip Gustavsson of the Ottawa Senators and Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers look soon ready to be between the pipes in the NHL, they are still essentially unknown and if they are capable of becoming the star players they were projected to be. With a potential signing of Bobrovsky by the Senators or Flyers it would give more certainty in the net, just ask the Flyers and their continuous growing goalie graveyard. The final team that may look at getting Bobrovsky to play between their pipes is the St. Louis Blues. Even though the Blues are in a midst of a nose dive to the bottom of a tough Central division and with a continuous flow of players coming in and out, one area that the Blues can improve that will instantly change the team from a cellar dweller to playoff contender is an upgrade in net. True goalie Jake Allen is 28 years old, but since having a great season in the 2016-17 season, the New Brunswick native has been shaky and inconsistent. Even in the 2016-17 where Allen won 33 out of 61 games, he was not necessarily the best goalie at times. Even though Allen still has 3 years left on his contract with an annual cap hit of $4.3 million, upgrading the goaltending would be a major step in getting the Blues franchise out of the gutter. With it still being 7 ½ months away until July 1^st and Bobrovsky officially a free agent, the rumours and speculation will continue to rise, unless he is signed to an extension or is traded before the February 25^th deadline. Look forward to your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments section.

Photo courtesy of Sportsnet