George Richards, FHN Publisher
When it comes to making final goalie grades on the Florida Panthers 2019-20 season, the good news is, they all passed.
Surprise backup/starter Chris Driedger, however, was the only member of the team’s honor roll.
When the Panthers went after prize free agent Sergei Bobrovsky last summer, inking the two-time Vezina Trophy winner was supposed to cure all of the team’s ills.
It did not.
And it honestly is hard to blame Bobrovsky for all of that.
But, as he has said himself, his numbers on the final ledger do not look great in the light of day.
Bobrovsky has some of this lowest (save percentage, saves-against average) and highest (goals-against per game) numbers of his stellar career.
Florida’s four-game series loss to the Islanders seemed to perfectly sum up Bobrovsky’s first season in the Sunshine State: As well as he played, it was not good enough to carry the Panthers.
Bobrovsky needed to be close-to-perfect for the Panthers to beat the Islanders. He was not. They did not.
Put that blame on him if you would like. The Panthers had their share of flaws this past season and a lot of what they did wrong continued into the play-in series against New York.
As the offseason is upon us, it is time to look back on the season.
Today, we delve into the Florida Panthers’ goalies.
Sergei Bobrovsky
Final stats: 23-19-6; 3.23 GAA; .920 save percentage
Postseason: 1-3; 3.07 GAA; .901 save percentage
Final grade: C
The season: The first thing that usually gets mentioned when Bobrovsky’s name has been brought up this season is the contract.
So, let’s get that out of the way.
Last July, the Panthers gave Bobrovsky the biggest free agent contract in franchise history, a seven-year deal worth $10 million per season.
The contract makes Bobrovsky not only the highest-paid players to ever wear the Florida sweater (Pavel Bure signed a five-year, $47.5 million deal with the team), but one of the highest-paid goalies in NHL history.
As it stands, only Montreal’s Carey Price ($10.5 million) makes more annually than Bobrovsky.
Looking back at this season, Bobrovsky never looked completely comfortable. He admitted as much during the season and again once it was over.
“It was a mixed feeling. The beginning was very hard for me but at the end I began to feel better and better, adjusted more,” Bobrovsky said after Florida’s Game 4 loss to the Islanders.
“I got more comfortable with the rhythm, the surroundings with the players and coaches. In this short period, I felt good physically and mentally and I think we made some strides as a team. This team, I don’t know when they (were last in the playoffs) so to get that win against the Islanders … to get that taste, see that it’s worth it brings us even more together.
“This is a process. You can’t just jump right away to the roof; you have to take some baby steps toward our goal. We have a lot of talent in this room, we’re close and we’re excited about the future.”
Whether it was getting used to a new team or a new locale, Bobrovsky definitely seemed settled in the postseason.
That bodes well for the future. Bobrovsky remains an elite goalie, one who is a difference-maker given at least a little defensive support.
Chris Driedger
Final stats: 7-2-1; 2.05 GAA; .938 save percentage
Postseason: None.
Final grade: A
The season: When the Panthers closed in on Bobrovsky, they sent James Reimer to Carolina for Scott Darling in a buy-out deal to clear up some cap room.
The backup job would go to either Sam Montembeault or Driedger depending on how things looked in camp — with the early edge going to Montembeault.
Both goalies looked good in camp but Montembeault did look a touch better; he got the backup job and Driedger went to AHL Springfield.
While Montembeault started to struggle in Florida, Driedger was outstanding in Springfield and earned a call-up in November.
After Bobrovsky didn’t look sharp in a loss at Washington, Driedger was given a surprise Saturday night start against Nashville.
It was his first NHL start (he had a couple of relief games with Ottawa) and he earned a shutout.
Driedger was Florida’s backup from then on until he had a groin injury in January. When Driedger returned in March, he went 2-0-1 before the NHL took its pause.
Before being hurt, Driedger won five of seven starts. He then missed six weeks with the injury.
With one year left on his contract, Driedger is expected to head into next season as the backup. After the season he had, Driedger’s career has a new lease on life.
“I came in and was given some opportunity and it was great just to get my feet wet a little bit and get some confidence,” Driedger said during the Panthers’ summer camp.
“I got a couple games back-to-back and that helps a lot. I got that first game out of the way and was able to exhale a little bit. After that, I was able to focus like I was in the American League. I tried to keep the same mindset, work with Robb Tallas and keep my game going in the right direction. The season was great for my confidence.”
Sam Montembeault
Final stats: 5-5-1; 3.34 GAA; .890 save percentage
Postseason: None.
Final grade: C-minus
The season: It started off well enough as Montembeault had a strong training camp and a good early start.
Montembeault gave up two goals in each of his first two starts before things started to go south. Montembeault gave up five goals in each of his next three starts (he did shutdown Boston in relief allowing Florida an incredible comeback victory) and was sent to Springfield.
Driedger played his way into the backup job was Montembeault was away.
When Driedger got hurt in January, Montembeault came back and played in seven games — getting two wins.
His final game of the season came in a 3-0 loss to Calgary on March 1 as Driedger returned and started the final three games with Bobrovsky sidelined with a lower body injury.
Montembeault made 25 saves in a 5-3 win against New Jersey on Feb. 11 for his final victory of the season.
In the system
Florida looks pretty set at the goalie position now and in the future.
At the AHL level, both Philippe Desrosiers (RFA this offseason) and Ryan Bednard (drafted by Florida in the seventh round in 2015) played well for Springfield and provide sufficient depth.
While Driedger made the AHL All-Star team after just two months of work with the Thunderbirds, Desrosiers stepped in and went 16-10-2 while splitting time with Montembeault.
Bednard, in his first pro season after four years at Bowling Green, got good experience both in the ECHL and AHL.
Spencer Knight, Florida’s first-round pick last summer, is the team’s eventual starting goalie.
Knight did not get to complete what was a stellar freshman season at Boston College where he went 23-8-2, had a GAA under 2 and made 93 percent of his saves with five shutouts for the Eagles.
He hopes to play his sophomore season this fall.