The Stanley Cup Playoffs are reaching their climax as the Stanley Cup Final approaches. While the action on the ice is slowing down, the action off the ice is really heating up. Everybody loves the silly season and where players will end up, but there are some major storylines heading into the offseason, especially with the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers.
Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers
Let’s begin in Florida with the Panthers and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky is a pending unrestricted free agent and could be available once again on July 1st. His name was in the rumour mill around the NHL Trade Deadline, given that he had not signed an extension with the Panthers yet.
As any good General Manager would, Bill Zito received calls and listened to offers for his goaltender. Whether Zito was actually going to move Bobrovsky despite the Panthers being out of playoff contention is a completely different story. But when teams call, general managers will listen.
Unless he received an offer he couldn’t refuse in return, the belief was that Bobrovsky would not be traded and would re-sign with the Panthers. That remains the expectation, but this is a negotiation process after all. Just because the players say they want four years at $7-$8 million doesn’t mean they will get it.
Sergei Bobrovsky wants to remain with the Florida Panthers. Zito and the players want Bobrovsky to stick around, knowing how important he is to the franchise. Bobrovsky, after all, backstopped the Panthers to back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships.
However, he will not be earning the $10 million per season he is currently earning. Bobrovsky will have to take a significant pay cut, which he is okay with. What he is looking for is his term. He wants something similar to what Brad Marchand got, with the money spread over more years.
Marchand was 37 when he signed his six-year deal; Bobrovsky is a 38-year-old goaltender. How many goalies play into their mid-40s in the NHL? Jacob Markstrom just signed a two-year deal at $6 million a season. Is that the starting point for the Panthers?
Speaking with some around the league, there is a belief and expectation that Bobrovsky and the Panthers are going to find middle on contract negotiations and come to terms at some point. It’s still April right now. They’ve got a ways to go, so it doesn’t surprise anyone they are playing the negotiating game.
However, it would be shocking two months from now, when the calendar flips to July 1 and both Bobrovsky and the Panthers are not on the same page. If that happens all bets are off and Florida could look to go after Jordan Binnington, Connor Hellebuyck, and goalies of that calibre.
Jesper Wallstedt is off the board with the injury to Filip Gustavasson. But the goal remains to sign Sergei Bobrovsky to a new deal.
Will Vincent Trocheck Get Traded?
The New York Rangers have a valuable trade chip in Vincent Trocheck. It was very surprising not to see Trocheck move at the NHL Trade Deadline. The player was expecting to be moved at the deadline, and many around the team thought he would be. So the trade deadline came and went with Trocheck still on the Rangers, it was surprising.
There were teams interested in his services. However, the Rangers did not get the price they wanted for Trocheck. The Rangers wanted not just draft capital, but young players that could come in and impact the lineup right away, preferably, but if not right away, then very, very soon.
Given what Drury got in trades for players like Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, Artemi Panarin, and others, he needed to win a trade and get more compensation than originally thought to quickly turn the Rangers around, despite putting no timetable on the rebuild/retool.
At the deadline, there was only a handful of teams in the mix trying to make the playoffs; that pool will now expand to potentially non-playoff teams in the offseason. So the Rangers took a risk by not moving Trocheck, hoping there would be a bidding war this summer.
Teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, and others that need a new center will call the Rangers. The Rangers have to get this right. Trocheck has a 10-team no-trade list, so the Rangers took a calculated risk given the free-agent class, that teams will be willing to pay their high price this summer.
Jim Biringer
@JimBiringer | Jim Biringer
Hockey writer and reporter covering the NHL with a focus on breaking news, analysis, and league developments. Based in Canada with a passion for telling the stories behind the game. Regularly covering trades, signings, and the pulse of the hockey world. Known for delivering timely updates and in-depth hockey insight across social platforms and media outlets.
