Bobrovsky had a record of 213-130-27 with Columbus.
When Sergei Bobrovsky decided that he didn’t want to play for the Columbus Blue Jackets any longer, fans were gutted. How could the best goalie to ever wear the Union Blue want to leave? He owns just about every organizational record there is for goalies, including games played, wins, goals-against, saves, shutouts, minutes played, and points scored.
Well, we soon got our answer. GM Jarmo Kekalainen came out publicly and stated that Bobrovsky came to the front office and said he was done with the organization. But why? Was it money? Was it Torts? Was it the city itself? Seems to be a combination of all of the above, and some fans were not happy.
And then, after the CBJ swept the Tampa Bay Lightning, that was it; he was gone. But let’s be honest: the time he spent there was historic in terms of team records, and it was fun to watch.
On June 15, 2013, Sergei Bobrovsky won his first and two Vezina Trophy following the 2012-13 season.
Bobrovsky played in 38 games, compiling a record of 21-11-6. He had 4 shutouts, the first of 33 in his CBJ career. His GAA was 2.00 with a save % of .932. The man played stellar.
But he had shown flashes in the previous two seasons with the Flyers. And with the 2012-13 season being shortened due to a labor dispute, he played for SKA St Petersburg of the KHL. He did really well there too, going 18-3-2 with a sub-2.00 GAA. And with all of that, the Jackets missed the playoffs due to a tiebreaker. They finished with 55 points, tied with the Minnesota Wild. They went 24-17-7 and deserved to be in the playoffs that year, in my opinion.
John Davidson revealed that Bobrovsky refused to waive his no-trade clause leading up to the 2019 NHL trade deadline. Davidson made the following comment about Bobrovsky, who left Columbus to sign a 7-year deal with the Florida Panthers.
"I know that with Bobrovsky, he didn't want to waive his no-trade, so we couldn't trade him. And I get that; he had every right in the world. That's nobody's fault. It's just what it is.
Fans have always thought that the Jackets just held on to Bobrovsky and Panarin and went "All-In." But it very well could be that since Sergei Bobrovsky refused to waive his no-trade clause, Columbus had no choice but to go for it that year. It worked out, and it didn't.
Sergei Bobrovsky, still a topic of conversation among Jackets fans. Some good. Some bad. But in the long run, he was one of the greatest players ever to wear a Columbus Blue Jackets jersey.
Bob has also cemented himself as one of the NHL's all-time great goalies by winning playing in three straight Stanley Cup Finals, and winning two straight Cups.
Next Up For Columbus: The NHL Draft is on June 26 and 27 in Buffalo, where the CBJ will own pick #14.
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