George Richards, FHN Publisher
We always knew the Florida Panthers and soon-to-be free agent goalie Sergei Bobrovsky were pretty far apart on a new contract. If they were not, a new deal would have already have been agreed to.
On Wednesday, Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet suggested Bobrovsky is looking for something in the neighborhood of “$42 million over six or seven years.”
Bobrovsky, of course, is coming off a seven-year contract he signed as a free agent in 2019 worth $70 million.
Prior to signing Bobrovsky, the Panthers had never before signed a player to that much average salary nor that much total.
Captain Sasha Barkov signed an eight-year, $80 million deal in 2021.
Barkov remains the only other Panthers player to ever get an average salary of $10 million although Matthew Tkachuk ($9.5m) and Sam Reinhart ($8.625m) have come close.
Florida general manager Bill Zito, coach Paul Maurice, numerous players — and Bobrovsky himself — all have publicly stated they hope something can be worked out before the free agency market opens in less than two weeks on July 1.
But has Bobrovsky priced himself out of the Panthers’ plans?
Perhaps not yet.
The Panthers continue to negotiate with their goalie but are believed to be looking elsewhere and, really, have been for some time.
The Panthers have been linked to both Jordan Binnington and Team USA gold-medal winner Connor Hellebuyck.
Binnington appears to be the easier get if the Panthers were so interested. Binnington, who won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $6 million.
Per Puck Pedia, Binnington is owed $4.5 million in real salary.
Hellebuyck is, like Bobrovsky, a two-time winner of the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie.
He will be a lot harder to pry out of Winnnipeg.
Although there have been rumblings he would like to play somewhere else, nothing concrete has been said.
Hellebuyck has five years remaining with a cap hit of $8.5 million. The Panthers would likely move out salary to accommodate such a trade giving them a little more flexibility under the cap.
Right now, the Panthers have about $15.3 under the $103.85 million salary cap but need to sign two goalies, RFA Mackie Samoskevich, and fill out the roster.
ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS OFFSEASON
- NHL Draft (9th in First Round, Seven Picks Overall): June 26-27; KeyBank Center, Buffalo
- NHL Free Agency: Opens July 1
- Panthers Development Camp: Late June/Early July; IcePlex, Fort Lauderdale
- Panthers Rookie Camp/Tournament: Late August/Early Sept.; Site TBA
- Panthers Training Camp: Early/Mid September; Fort Lauderdale
- 2026-27 NHL Season Opens: Late September; Site, Opponent TBA