The management of the Florida Panthers have made some questionable decisions over the past few seasons that has led them to not only win the Presidents’ Trophy last season, but the downfall this season. After a couple of failed playoff runs resulting in just one series win in three years, a major shake up happened sending Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk.
This trade may have partly happened because Huberdeau and Weegar were entering the final year of their contracts and there was doubt around re-signing them. But the playoff performance and type of player Huberdeau was as opposed to Tkachuk also played a part. Tkachuk is breaking records and having a great season while the rest of the team isn’t, but the defence has really felt the hit of not having Weegar in the lineup.
Bobrovsky’s Decline Since Signing With Panthers
On top of that massive trade, the decision to sign Sergei Bobrovsky to a very big seven-year, $70 million deal is now haunting them. He has not performed like the goaltender he was in Columbus where he won two Vezina Trophies and had a .921 SV% over the seven years he played there. Bobrovsky has taken a backseat to Spencer Knight, the goalie of the future, this season. With Knight’s $4.5 million AAV extension set to kick in next season, the pressure is on.
Bobrovsky is sporting just a .905 SV% over the four seasons since signing in Florida and has not been worth the massive contract one bit. He sits at a SV% of .895 this season with a GAA of 3.25. His record is also 7-10-1 and Knight has played much better. Seeing as Bobrovsky is now the backup in his fourth year of his seven year contract, he may want to head somewhere else to get more playing time again.
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Having Bobrovsky want to play more may help the team move him as he has a no-move clause until 2024-25. At that time it turns to a 16-team no-trade clause but it will be too late. The Panthers do get some sort of cap relief after this season with the majority of Keith Yandle’s buyout already being paid, but the team can’t afford to pay their goalie tandem $14.5 million. Even more so, they can’t afford to pay a backup goaltender $10 million.
How the Panthers Move Bobrovsky
Seeing as Bobrovsky has the control in his contract, he will have to either request a trade or be willing to waive his no-move clause if asked. This could put the Panthers in a really bad position if he doesn’t want to leave. But since his production has declined and his starts have become minimal, it may sway a decision.
That is just the first obstacle. The second is finding a trade partner to take on Bobrovsky. His $10 million AAV won’t make it easy at all and at the very least will force them to retain and cost them quite a bit of assets that they are already very few of. The team is 15-15-4 and six points out of a playoff spot with many good teams they have to pass. It will be nearly impossible to trade Bobrovsky mid-season, but a rebuilding team may be able to use the cap hit to reach the cap floor and gain some assets in the offseason.
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