“My head’s scratching, I can’t believe they haven’t got a deal done for him to stay in Florida at this point.” That’s what insider Kevin Weekes had to say about Panthers’ icon Sergei Bobrovsky on TSN’s Trade Centre Friday morning.
The 37-year-old netminding legend has two Vezina Trophies and has backboned the Panthers’ two Stanley Cup runs, but he’s a pending unrestricted free agent, and there appears to be no deal on an extension in sight. That means a stunning trade could be coming today.
Weekes projects two teams as the top suitors for Playoff Bob heading up to the deadline: The Vegas Golden Knights and the Edmonton Oilers.
That opens the door to the Vegas Golden Knights, who are always sniffing in the waters looking to land the big shark. Since moving on from Logan Thompson, to me that’s kind of destabilized their net.
I can see the Edmonton Oilers being another potential team.
The Golden Knights traded Thompson to the Washington Capitals after the 2023-24 season, and it’s turned out to be a mistake to this point. Thompson has thrived in DC. Adin Hill had a nice season last year, but has spent much of this season injured for Vegas, and the addition of Carter Hart hasn’t been a big boon to their crease so far. If the team is hoping to make a long playoff run, adding Bob could be a tremendous move.
Could Oilers make the stunning move and trade for Bobrovsky?
As for the Oilers, everyone knows about their goaltending troubles at this point. There was some word earlier this week that they were planning to stay the course with the struggling Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram. But how ironic would it be if they landed the man who shut them down in the last two Stanley Cup Finals and they finally got over the hump with him this yeaer?
Insider Pierre LeBrun adds the Carolina Panthers as another strong contender.
It hasn’t been the best regular season for Bobrovsky this year, but the same can be said for the entire team in front of him. And we all know what he can do when the chips are down in the playoffs.
He’s sitting on a 3.13 goals against average this season with an .873 save percentage. Both of those represent the worst numbers of his legendary 16-year career.
He’s coming off a seven-year, $70 million deal, and it’ll be intriguing to see what he gets on his next contract — be it in Florida or somewhere else.
Photo: © Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
