Sergei Bobrovsky is a restricted free agent next summer and, though there's mutual interest in getting a deal done, Bobrovsky's expected ask is likely more than the Blue Jackets are willing to pay.
Sense I got is that Bobrovsky wants to be paid like a top G in the #NHL. #CBJ not ready for that yet, so he wants this season to prove it.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) November 13, 2014On first glance his ask may seem unrealistic, but is it really far fetched?
In Bobrovsky's first two seasons with the Blue Jackets he won a Vezina, and led them to their 2nd playoff appearance in club history.
Year 3 is yet to be determined, but Curtis McElhinney's poor play with Bobrovsky out certainly helps show just how valuable he is.
At just 26 Bobrovsky has plenty of good years left in the tank and, with the cap expected to rise significantly in the coming years, the Jackets have plenty of cap space to pay him.
Henrik Lundqvist's $8.5 million cap hit may be tough to top, but I could see Bobrovsky coming within that realm. Pekka Rinne and Tuukka Rask at $7 million seem like reasonable comparables, no?
Those three are bigger names, but over the last two years only Rask has stopped pucks at a higher rate than Bobrovsky during 5 v 5 play.
Bobrovsky may not end up being the league's highest paid goaltender, but his performance over the last few seasons suggests he does deserve a lucrative deal that will at least put him in the ball park of the guys on top.
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