Bob's destination. This has been a hot topic since the trade deadline. If we jump in the no-so-way-back-machine and revisit the trade deadline, he was the prize goaltender available. Someone was going to scoop him up and make a run for the Cup despite his playoff track record. As reality would have it that team was actually the Blue Jackets. And their mini-playoff run was cut short by a buzz saw know as the Boston Bruins, who recently won 8 playoff games in a row before dropping their first game in overtime to STL last night.

At the deadline there were rumors of several playoff teams and several non-playoff teams kicking the tires on Sergei. Playoff teams (or bubble teams) that may have been interested could have included CGY, EDM, SJS and maybe even WIN. Non-playoff teams with an interest were FLA, VAN, NJD, or OTT, maybe. All speculation, I have no sources to back this up, just things I read that may or may not have been reliable.

Evaluating the trade deadline rumors with 20/20 vision after the playoffs (I say after because BOS and STL would not have been interested in Bob) makes things much easier.

OTT - If they wanted Bob they were making deals with CBJ and would have/could have sweetened either deal to get him. The recent re-signing of Nilsson leads me to believe that they like their goaltending situation.

NJD - Another team that did a deadline deal with CBJ. They also have committed to Schneider (for better or worse) for the foreseeable future. Unless it was a swap involving Cory coming to C-bus it would not have made sense to have both he and Bob. NJD would have needed a long term deal in place to re-sign Bob for that to work.

VAN and FLA - While FLA got a lot of talk the fact is that they have two NHL caliber goalies. They would have needed one of them off their roster first. Both these teams had little reason to acquire Bob at the deadline other than to try to get a head start on signing him before July 1. Prudent move by both to just wait.

EDM - Were they buyers or sellers? It was so hard to tell. They were in the playoff race then out, then hammering the Jackets and back in but ultimately out. They traded away their starting tendy and now it looks as if Koskinen is 'their guy' in net. What may have worked is for this deal to happen 2-3 weeks ahead of the deadline and swapping Talbot for Bob. More would have had to come back to CBJ, but an early trade may have allowed EDM to rack up some more victories and stay in the hunt...but maybe not.

Now the interesting scenarios...

We will start with SJS. Early in the playoffs Jones was shaky and very well could have been their reason for an early exit. Then he found his game and at points carried the team on his back. Alas the story repeated every spring happened again, the Sharks fell short. The question at hand is would Bob have gotten them over the hump. I believe that can only be answered if we knew what was going in the other direction in return. If it was 'futures' then the answer would have been maybe. If the answer was NHL roster players, maybe not. This scenario was made much more interesting by Bob's performance for Columbus in the post season. What might have been? I do not blame the Sharks for sticking with Jones now and in the future.

We can also play what might have been with the #1 seed in the West CGY. Most will point squarely at the goalie position when discussing the failure of the Flames in the playoffs. That is the easy scapegoat. Adding Bob to this team, given his playoff performance, could have equaled success for the Flames. They were going to face the Avs, Sharks and Blues if they wanted to make it to the Cup. Those all become winable series for them with sharper goaltending. What was going the other way was again the question. My answer would have been Mike Smith, 1st round 2019 pick, conditional pick based upon CGYs advancement in the playoff and conditional pick based on re-signing Bobrovsky. If you are a CGY fan do you take that deal in hindsight? If you are CBJ fan do you keep Bob past the deadline?

But today's original question is where does he go in free agency?

CBJ didn't move him at the deadline, used his services in the playoffs and now have to let him walk...or do they. Columbus could re-sign him (long shot), trade his rights for nominal draft picks, pull off the elusive sign-and-trade deal which could net them some greater value or he can walk for nothing.

There is the rumor that his rights could be traded for Lehner's rights. Both teams would need assurances that they could sign their goaltender. A sign-and-trade deal could also be worked to accomplish the same result. Who gets the better side of that? Depends on the contracts, but both teams could get value from that deal given that Bob isn't re-signing in Columbus.

FLA is a possibility but what are they going to do with 3 goalies? Answer is likely trade or buy-out Reimer and use Luo as the back up or '1B'. Legit possibility Sergei may end up in FLA with a long-term deal.

CAR, what? If I'm CAR I re-sign my goaltending duo and stick with them. Cost would be less to sign the two of them than to sign Bob. Term will likely be shorter resulting in less risk. And show loyalty by rewarding a tandem that got you to the Eastern Conference Finals. Not to mention the questioning the fan base would have for not re-signing your own guys for less than the high-priced-newcomer.

Columbus? Has the fat lady sang yet? No, but I also don't think that Jarmo is backing up a Brinks truck and giving Bob 8 years of around $9M. Jarmo has made sound hockey moves in his time in Columbus. Some have been quiet, some have been the talk of the league. All have served a purpose be it short-term or long-term. This is not a prudent hockey move, so I don't believe he will be back, unfortunately as his on-ice performance has been fun to watch over the last 7 seasons.

CGY gets a second chance at Bob. They should do everything they can to not repeat their mistake. They should trade for his rights, initiate a sign-and-trade or wait until July 1 and overpay him. CGYs time to win is now. Bob can help this cause. Will he be great at the end of a 7 (or 8) year contract, NO. With a win-now mentality the next 2-3-4 years could be very successful for CGY and Bob. There are other goalie options out there for CGY and cap space could be an issue, but they could see great benefits with Bobrovsky.

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