The goalie market just got a whole lot more interesting
According to Nick Kypreos, the Florida Panthers are shopping goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and are willing to retain 50% of his remaining contract. Bobrovsky has another 4 years at $10M per season left on his contract and has slowly been pushed to the backup role as Spencer Knight is primed to take over the starting role for the Panthers.
Bobrovsky, even at 50% retained, may not make a whole lot of sense for the Leafs, given the radical inconsistency he's displayed during his time as a member of the Florida Panthers. There is another situation, however, that may interest the Leafs.
One team that is interested in Bobrovsky, according to Washington reporter, Sammi Silber is the Washington Capitals. The Captials were not pleased with their goaltending during the playoffs as both Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov struggled. Both are also RFA's and Silber reported that one of them will likely be moved.
Should the Capitals acquire Bobrovsky, the Leafs should absolutely check in on the asking price for both Vanecek and Samsonov. At just 25 years old, Samsonov has lots of room to grow and develop and in 89 career games has posted a save percentage of .904. Vanecek is also only 26, and in 79 career games has posted a .908 save percentage.
Both would come at a cheaper price, contract wise than Jack Campbell and could prove to be the netminder the Leafs have been looking for - or at the very least, a more than capable stop-gap until one of their home-grown goalie prospects is ready to take over.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 18 | 569 ANSWERS The goalie market just got a whole lot more interesting If the Caps acquire Bobrovsky and trade one of Vanecek or Samsonov, would you like to see the Leafs acquire one of them? | ||
| Yes, Samsonov | 213 | 37.4 % |
| Yes, Vanecek | 87 | 15.3 % |
| No, neither are upgrades over Campbell | 269 | 47.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
