From THN's Archive: The Bobrovsky Boondoggle

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The Bobrovsky Boondoggle - Jan 7, 2019 - Vol. 72, Iss. 7

SO YOU WANT TO be an NHL general manager? Consider the plight of Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen, who has been steadily building a deep and dangerous roster in Columbus, only to find out this summer that the team’s two best players – winger Artemi Panarin and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky – are probably gone after this season, if not sooner.

Panarin has drawn the most headlines because he’s been the most public, but it’s easier – not easy, but easier – to replace a top-end left winger than it is to replace a franchise goalie, one who has two Vezina Trophies in his collection. And the situation with Panarin, while bleak, hasn’t gotten nearly as personal or awkward as it has with Bobrovsky.

First, some background. Bobrovsky, perhaps more than any other player, has played a major role in the Blue Jackets’ fairly recent rise to respectability. He was traded to Columbus in 2012 by Philadelphia – oh, the Flyers and their goaltending – and immediately won his first Vezina Trophy. Since then, other than frustrating bouts with groin injuries in 2013-14 and ’14-15, Bobrovsky has been the Blue Jackets’ rock, their best player most nights and the biggest reason they’ve had three playoff berths in the past five seasons.

HOW MANY TEAMS WOULD BE WILLING TO CARVE OUT ALMOST $11 MILLION FOR A GOALIE WITH NO TRACK RECORD OF PLAYOFF SUCCESS?

But about those playoffs. Bobrovsky has suffered unimaginable struggles in the post-season where he looks like a completely different goaltender than the regular-season version. Bobrovsky is 5-12 with a 3.38 goals-against average and .898 save percentage in the playoffs with Columbus, as the Blue Jackets have bowed out in the first round twice to Pittsburgh and last season to eventual Stanley Cup-champion Washington.

Those numbers cannot be ignored, and the Blue Jackets have stopped even trying. After the 2016-17 playoff exit to Pittsburgh in five games, Bobrovsky bristled at even the faint suggestion by the Blue Jackets – or questions from reporters – that he seek help to clear this hurdle, perhaps with a sports psychologist.

After the 2017-18 exit to the Capitals in six games, coach John Tortorella, while not pinning all of the blame on Bobrovsky, made it clear that his goaltender needs to be better in big games. All of this, apparently, has roiled Bobrovsky, and when the Blue Jackets’ initial contract extension offer this summer came in lower than desired, he felt fully snubbed. His agent, Paul Theofanous, has not spoken publicly regarding Bobrovsky’s situation, but reports suggest that Bobrovsky is looking for “Carey Price-like” numbers with his next deal. Price is in the first season of an eight-year, $84-million contract with Montreal.

Bobrovsky showed up for training camp on time, but nobody who has spent any significant time around him could recall him being as grumpy and defiant as he was when he spoke with the media one day before camp. He said the Blue Jackets knew what he was planning to do since the end of 2017-18, that he was done talking contract once camp got underway. “They know exactly what we’re going to do,” Bobrovsky said, although Kekalainen has denied that anything has been settled.

The Blue Jackets do not appear willing to stroke Bobrovsky’s ego by making him the highest-paid goaltender in the NHL. If there were playoff runs on his resume, maybe they’d slide a blank check across the table for him to sign, but they appear ready to let him walk at Price’s price.

Also, the Blue Jackets believe they have significantly more leverage in their talks with Bobrovsky than Panarin. How many NHL teams need a No. 1 goaltender? How many of those teams would be willing to carve out almost $11 million – roughly one-seventh of the salary cap – for a goalie with no track record of playoff success?

Perhaps only a handful of NHL teams fit those criteria, but the free-agent market could be flooded with goaltenders on July 1. The Blue Jackets think Columbus at, say, $9 million per season, might look better to Bobrovsky next July.

But the Blue Jackets aren’t of a mind to beg him to stay, either. Tortorella has already made it clear that the club must start taking a longer look at backup Joonas Korpisalo, who started on opening night in Detroit and, in one stretch, made three consecutive starts for the Jackets. Bobrovsky hadn’t sat out for three straight starts while healthy since he arrived in 2012-13.

Columbus could turn the crease over to Korpisalo next year, but there’s another wild card waiting in the wings. Elvis Merzlikins, 24, has been a star in Switzerland in recent seasons and has looked strong for his native Latvia in international competition. Three years ago, when it came time to sign an extension with Lugano, he asked for a three-year deal with his eyes on 2019-20. He knew when Bobrovsky’s deal expired.

If Bob leaves the building, so to speak, maybe Elvis will enter. 

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