Panthers Pulse: Sergei Bobrovsky’s Case as a Hall of Famer Solidified With Stanley Cup
Sergei Bobrovsky reached the pinnacle of his Hall of Fame career by leading the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup in 2024.
Photo by Colby Guy
Leading up to the beginning of training camp, Pucks and Palms will be previewing each of the key pieces of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in a series called ‘Panthers Pulse’ heading into the 2024-25 season. Sergei Bobrovsky is next.
2023-24 Stats: 36-17-4, .915 SV%, 2.37 GAA (Playoffs: 16-8, .906 SV%, 2.32 GAA)
Sergei Bobrovsky’s Hall of Fame case is signed, sealed and delivered at this point.
After winning two Vezina Trophies in Columbus, numerous All-Star selection and a resurgence to a Top 3 spot in Vezina voting in 2023-24, Bobrovksy made any argument against him moot by leading the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup.
His dazzling 23-save performance in a 2-1 Panthers victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Cup Final surely puts an exclamation point on that.
Bobrovsky’s playoff numbers don’t exactly jump off the page — and three five-plus goal outings from Edmonton while Florida was struggling to close the series out inflated them — but he had a myriad of big moments to go with the big silver trophy he skated off with.
The iconic “Bobbery” against the Tampa Bay which merely defied physics, shutouts in Game 1 of both the Eastern Conference final and the Stanley Cup Final, and a slew of huge, timely saves in that Game 7.
He might not have won the Conn Smythe like fans wanted him to, but he got the thing that mattered more: The Cup.
The folks at Amerant Bank Arena that night made sure he felt appreciated anyways with a “Bobby” chant shortly after Connor McDavid was announced as the winner of the Playoff MVP award after his historic run.
Bobrovsky will continue to be valuable for the Panthers heading into the 2024-25 season.
Even enterring his Age 36 season, Bobrovsky does not look like he’s slowed down a bit.
He still remains one of the most acrobatic and athletic goalies in the league — as evidenced by his iconic sprawling save agains the Lightning, among others — and he returns to a team that did not allow all that much action in front of him.
Part of the reason why his save percentage was so low in the playoffs is because the Panthers are one of the best shot-suppressing teams in the league. But regardless of what that workload is, Bobrovsky has proven to be ready for whatever comes his way.
Bobrovsky’s attention to detail and rigorous routine has been what has allowed him to stay dominant for so long, and he will be hungry to defend his title.
He projects to start a large portion of games — he started 58 of Florida’s 82 games last year — while Spencer Knight and Chris Driedger battle it out for the back-up role.
That looks to be the case for the next two seasons before his seven year, $70 million contract expires after the 2025-26 season.
Whether or not Knight takes over as the No 1 netminder after that point or not, Bobrovsky’s name is solidified in both Panthers history and NHL history.
When he hangs up his skates, the No. 72 will be hanging from the rafters in Sunrise and — soon enough — he will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
UP NEXT IN PANTHERS PULSE
Later Today: Spencer Knight
Tomorrow: Aleksander Barkov
Previously: Matthew Tkachuk, Gustav Forsling, Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues, Eetu Luostarinen, Uvis Balinskis, Anton Lundell