Sergei Bobrovsky - Top Cop

[Old Guy]

All right.........I have to make a confession. I never wrote it down, typed it out, or posted it, but I thought it a number of times.

My thought went something like; "Lord, I hope Jarmo doesn't give Bobrovsky a contract like 7 years at $9 million per with a full NMC".

Last year Bob put up 2.06 GAA and a .931 S%. There was talk about how nobody in the modern era had put up two similar seasons, back-to-back. And oh yea.....don't even think it is possible to happen again.

Well at the quarter pole of the season Bob only has put up 2.02 and a .933. So......with that..........

Go ahead Jarmo, give him what ever you think is the best deal you can get. Obviously, I have no idea.

 

[haulinbass]

Unfortunately if Bob continues to play like this it is going to be a receipt for a huge contract. Why would he take a short deal? He doesn't have to.

Columbus fans shouldn't be concerned about the length of the contract. Columbus has a decent window ahead of them to be a contender. You do what you have to do now and figure out how to pick up the pieces when it all falls apart. That is just the way things are going in todays NHL.

The only thing that should be of concern is the cap hit. Hopefully given the fact Bob has already been paid a lot of money he won't push for every last dime. I'm hoping Columbus can do something like 8x7

 

[Byrral]

Hopefully given the fact Bob has already been paid a lot of money he won't push for every last dime. I'm hoping Columbus can do something like 8x7

Oh my no way. I love Bob and he means so much to our team. But there is no way I would sign him to a 7 year contract, ever.

 

[Maylo]

Another 4 years is fine i think 4x8,5. Just win a series please.

 

[CBJx614]

All right.........I have to make a confession. I never wrote it down, typed it out, or posted it, but I thought it a number of times.

My thought went something like; "Lord, I hope Jarmo doesn't give Bobrovsky a contract like 7 years at $9 million per with a full NMC".

Last year Bob put up 2.06 GAA and a .931 S%. There was talk about how nobody in the modern era had put up two similar seasons, back-to-back. And oh yea.....don't even think it is possible to happen again.

Well at the quarter pole of the season Bob only has put up 2.02 and a .933. So......with that..........

Go ahead Jarmo, give him what ever you think is the best deal you can get. Obviously, I have no idea.

Another vezina and I could see Bob pushing 10M.

If he wins the vezina again whatever he gets there will be no question he WILL be the highest paid goaltender in the league.

 

[Socks]

Another vezina and I could see Bob pushing 10M.

If he wins the vezina again whatever he gets there will be no question he WILL be the highest paid goaltender in the league.

And quite frankly I wouldn’t blame his agent for pushing for that (I don’t think Bob himself is the type of guy to want that type of money - he strikes me as being team first). He'd be in elite company as a three time winner, particularly in modern times. Sharing that spotlight with the likes of Hasek, Roy and Brodeur, not to mention all the greats of the past? Yeah I think I’d ask for the moon too, ESPECIALLY if his post-season play improves.

So Jarmo can wheel his best deal, but if this happens, and we know Bobby certainly has the goods for it, he’s gonna get paid and he’s gonna get paid well.

 

[MoeBartoli]

Another vezina and I could see Bob pushing 10M.

If he wins the vezina again whatever he gets there will be no question he WILL be the highest paid goaltender in the league.

MAYBE....here’s my thought. Price’s $10M is the reference point. But how’s that working in Montreal? The failure and burden of that deal may lower the market cap - though it will still be in the 8.0-8.5 range IMO. (Though Less if a substandard playoff). The CBJ issue they’ll face may be more about term than AAV.

 

[Byrral]

The CBJ issue they’ll face may be more about term than AAV.

This was exactly my thought a few posts back but you summed it up much better than my reactionary post. It's less about the dollars (although important) and more about term.

 

[CBJx614]

It depends on how much Bob trusts his agent, the same agent who played offers from the KHL against Jarmo.

 

[Old Guy]

You guys could be quite right about the term being more an issue of the AAV. I read two articles both saying the Salary Cap is almost certain to go up in the next two years (by a lot). They point to the strengthening of the Canadian dollar, plus the 3 new arenas in the league (Edmonton, Detroit, and Las Vegas) which drive up hockey related revenue. A $10 million salary might not as crippling in two years as it would be now.

 

[blahblah]

Meh, I'll just wait and see. We've got the rest of this season to evaluate. Assuming we make the playoffs I want to see what he does as, to this point, his post-season performances does not justify another bump his in salary no matter what he's doing in the regular season.

You could win the Vezina each season, but if you can't replicate that performance in the post-season you aren't worth the investment.

 

[Socks]

Meh, I'll just wait and see. We've got the rest of this season to evaluate. Assuming we make the playoffs I want to see what he does as, to this point, his post-season performances does not justify another bump his in salary no matter what he's doing in the regular season.

You could win the Vezina each season, but if you can't replicate that performance in the post-season you aren't worth the investment.

I understand your point about the playoffs, it’s reasonable and logical, and 9 times out of 10 I’d agree that it by itself is enough to drive down the contract.

However in Bob’s case, as I stated before, if he wins Vezina number 3 that gives his agent leverage that very few goalies have. Like it or not that will drive the numbers back up.

Having said all that I certainly hope he’s worked out all his post-season kinks and proves to be worthy of whatever contract he’s given in every way.

 

[Byrral]

I certainly hope he’s worked out all his post-season kinks and proves to be worthy of whatever contract he’s given in every way.

Players don't get paid in the playoffs

 

[Socks]

Players don't get paid in the playoffs

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Bob is going to get a 7 year deal unless something odd happens. He'll be 31 when his next deal starts and someone will roll the dice if the CBJ don't.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

And quite frankly I wouldn’t blame his agent for pushing for that (I don’t think Bob himself is the type of guy to want that type of money - he strikes me as being team first). He'd be in elite company as a three time winner, particularly in modern times. Sharing that spotlight with the likes of Hasek, Roy and Brodeur, not to mention all the greats of the past? Yeah I think I’d ask for the moon too, ESPECIALLY if his post-season play improves.

So Jarmo can wheel his best deal, but if this happens, and we know Bobby certainly has the goods for it, he’s gonna get paid and he’s gonna get paid well.

 

[blahblah]

if he wins Vezina number 3 that gives his agent leverage that very few goalies have. Like it or not that will drive the numbers back up..

What he's worth and what he'll end up getting paid are two different things. If he sucks in the playoffs again will we be the morons that pay him?

 

[Socks]

What he's worth and what he'll end up getting paid are two different things. If he sucks in the playoffs again will we be the morons that pay him?

Ok so then who’s our #1, Korpi? Forgive me if I’m skeptical. A trade? FA? Who’s up for grabs? Bob is a known entity. He can get us to the promised land and from there anything is possible. Look at Fleury - he certainly had some questionable playoff outings but he improved.

To make myself clear, yes I like Bob. No I don’t like the idea of tying up X percentage of the cap in one player, and by and large I think these 7 and 8 year deals are ridiculous. But if we don’t pay him someone else will and unless a better alternative presents itself I’d much rather go with the devil we know.

 

[CBJx614]

Ok so then who’s our #1, Korpi? Forgive me if I’m skeptical. A trade? FA? Who’s up for grabs? Bob is a known entity. He can get us to the promised land and from there anything is possible. Look at Fleury - he certainly had some questionable playoff outings but he improved.

To make myself clear, yes I like Bob. No I don’t like the idea of tying up X percentage of the cap in one player, and by and large I think these 7 and 8 year deals are ridiculous. But if we don’t pay him someone else will and unless a better alternative presents itself I’d much rather go with the devil we know.

The thing with Bob is, he might actually be worth a set aside percentage of the cap if he can translate his regular season play into the playoffs. The way he carries this team like nobody else does is worth whatever he wants pretty much.

 

[blahblah]

Ok so then who’s our #1, Korpi?

We didn't have an option when we signed Bob the last time and based on the way that Torts uses our goaltenders we won't again. Doesn't stop us from being morons. There is no chance at Korp developing at this point because Torts doghouses backup goaltenders like they are going out of style. I'm really not sure what you are arguing. I'm stating that you don't want to give a long term high dollar contract to a guy that only performs in the regular season. You really haven't disputed that. Is it likely that we pay Bob market value? Sure. Is that the best for the franchise? At this point I'm not sure about that. I'm certainly not sure what I want us to be paying Bob 9+ million at the age of 34. If Torts doesn't play Korp as he should be playing Korp, we'll never know what we really have, although if you listen to some people around here he's the worst goaltender to have ever walked the globe.

I also said we'd be morons for letting Karlsson go. To this point that seems to be a pretty accurate assessment, although he isn't going to keep shooting at a 25% rate. There is a very realistic possibility that this team would have been better of with Karlsson over Foligno as early as this season.

I don't think we are very good at cap management and asset management at times.

 

[blahblah]

Meh, new forum issue

 

[Socks]

We didn't have an option when we signed Bob the last time and based on the way that Torts uses our goaltenders we won't again. Doesn't stop us from being morons. There is no chance at Korp developing at this point because Torts doghouses backup goaltenders like they are going out of style. I'm really not sure what you are arguing. I'm stating that you don't want to give a long term high dollar contract to a guy that only performs in the regular season. You really haven't disputed that. Is it likely that we pay Bob market value? Sure. Is that the best for the franchise? At this point I'm not sure about that. I'm certainly not sure what I want us to be paying Bob 9+ million at the age of 34. If Torts doesn't play Korp as he should be playing Korp, we'll never know what we really have, although if you listen to some people around here he's the worst goaltender to have ever walked the globe.

I also said we'd be morons for letting Karlsson go. To this point that seems to be a pretty accurate assessment, although he isn't going to keep shooting at a 25% rate. There is a very realistic possibility that this team would have been better of with Karlsson over Foligno as early as this season.

I don't think we are very good at cap management and asset management at times.

All I’m saying is that at this point in time we don’t really have any other options and certainly no better options. So while I wouldn’t be thrilled giving Bob a contract that puts him up there as one of the highest paid players in the league, far from it, IF it happens I get it.

And if I’m not impressed with Korpi it’s because he has yet to do anything impressive. God knows we’ve seen worse but he hasn’t shown anything yet that makes me think he’ll ever put it together at the highest level.

As for Wild Bill, yeah it sucks that he’s doing what he’s doing on a team that isn’t us but that’s only tangentially germane to this discussion and really seems to just be a chance for you to pat yourself on the back.

 

[blahblah]

All I’m saying is that at this point in time we don’t really have any other options and certainly no better options.

Desperation is a great look for any franchise. You realize you repeated what I've already said right? As far as Korp, you aren't going to see anything if you sit him after "bad" games and overwork Bob. It's crappy asset management and could have contributed to Bob's sub-par play in the playoffs last season.

As far as "patting myself on the back" I was illustrating our less-than-stellar asset management decisions and questionable scouting. That feeds right into what we're doing on the goal tending front. We should be planning for the day that Bob starts declining, he is 30 after all. We're no closer to having a backup or replacement for Bob than when he signed the contract. If we continue down this path, we are going to lose more players because of signing questionable deals and not evaluating our own players properly. As a franchise, I don't think we make terrible good decisions. I have no idea what Korp's ceiling is, but it's higher than we our fan base that posts here thinks it is.

 

[Byrral]

I have stated before that I would not be in favor of a long term deal for Bob (more than 4 or 5 years). I say this and I could care less what has happened in playoffs past. Without Bob they might not get there anyway.

But I could support Bob getting a front loaded 5 year deal with most of his money up front like he has now. I believe Bob will get an AAV somewhere between $8-$9m so $40-45m, probably closer to the top range especially if he wins another Vezina or performs well in the post season. If he wants more than 5 years and/or more money at a longer term, then I would be looking to move him for assets next year. It would suck but other guys need to be paid to ice a competitive team.

 

[blahblah]

If we were structurally sound, who was in the net would be less important. Since we're not, we need someone to bail us out. I've said before this is a team game and, right now, our record (and 5 on 5 play) is more of a product of Bob's play than playing well in front of him.

In all likelihood we will go into the next deal desperate. We can debate it all we want, but Bob is probably going to have all the leverage and we're probably going to give into his demands.

I hope it works out for us. It's not all the uncommon for teams looking at aging goalies with concern. If you are paying 9 million, you better be sure he's the guy that can take you to the Cup or you have some young kid that can cover for him, if needed, making almost nothing.

The dude is coming up on 30 and he's be 31 when his next deal kicks in.