The Blue Jackets were the talk of the league on Friday when they announced the signing of Sergei Bobrovsky to a four-year extension worth almost $30 million, but there is plenty of data that suggests he's worth a big contract as much as anyone.
I'll get to that, but first a few thoughts:
1) Sergei Bobrovsky is 26. He just signed a four-year extension. While the money ($7.425M per) is a lot, the Blue Jackets just locked up an elite goaltender for the prime of his career.
2) The Jackets kept the term short, which I like. Again, the money is high, but committing to goaltenders for longer than five or six years (at most) rarely works out. There is a lot of fluctuation between top goaltenders on a year-to-year basis, but Bobrovsky is one of the few who has been consistently on top since coming to Columbus.
3) The cap is expected to up over the next few years, and Columbus has most of their team signed through next season so they could afford to dish out big money for Bobrovsky. They have a couple RFA's they need to get extended (Cam Atkinson, Matt Calvert, etc.) but their best unsigned pending UFA is Mark Letestu, and the Jackets will be able to place Nathan Horton on LTIR to clear more space so it shouldn't be an issue.
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Prior to the jump I said there is a lot of data out there that suggests Bobrovsky is worth big money as much as anyone. Let's take a look at some of that.
First up is quality start% (developed by Rob Vollman), a stat on Hockey-Reference.com that tracks quality starts and how often each goaltender records on.
Since coming to Columbus, Bobrovsky is 2nd in the NHL in quality start percentage among goaltenders with 90 or more starts.
Bobrovsky is also 2nd in the NHL - again behind only Tuukka Rask (.925SV%) - among 24 goaltenders that have played 80+ games with a .924SV% since the beginning of the 2012.
While the money may seem like a lot, it will make Bobrovsky the 2nd highest paid goaltender (cap hit wise) in the NHL and over the last few years he's been the 2nd best goaltender in the NHL.
At 26 years of age, it's likely Bobrovsky can sustain similar numbers through the entirety of his contract, and if he does the Blue Jackets will be getting their moneys worth.
This is a good deal for both sides, and you'd be ignorant to suggest otherwise.
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