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The Florida Panthers hold a lot of the cards in the offseason goalie market in the NHL.
More specifically, Sergei Bobrovsky may have a lot in his hands, too.
Bobrovsky is a free agent, and the Panthers likely want him back, but what he decides to do could have a domino effect.
"There’s still no resolution on Sergei Bobrovsky as July 1 approaches," The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun wrote on Thursday. "It’s a head-scratcher to me. And I have no idea how it’s going to end up. Does the veteran Russian netminder really want to leave South Florida, where he won two Cup titles? He turns 38 in September. The Panthers have been consistent in wanting him back, but there’s still no extension done with less than two weeks to go before July 1."
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If Bobrovsky doesn't come back, the Panthers will need another goalie. There aren't a ton of options out there that are definite starters.
One guy in the rumor mill, though, is Winnipeg Jets star Connor Hellebuyck, who won a gold medal with the United States at the Olympics.
"If Florida can’t re-sign him, I wonder about Connor Hellebuyck as a potential trade target if Winnipeg is actually willing to move on that front," LeBrun writes. "Hellebuyck’s end-of-season comments to the media in Winnipeg certainly gave the impression that he would be open to change, and TSN colleague Darren Dreger reported Wednesday that the Jets are listening on him and that a potential return might revolve around Winnipeg getting a second-line center plus other assets."
LeBrun warns that "the price might be too rich." The Jets certainly don't seem likely to get rid of Hellebuyck for cheap.
He did have a lesser season, but that was amid total struggles for Winnipeg, so it probably wasn't all on him.
The Panthers won back-to-back Stanley Cups but then missed the playoffs entirely. They'd like to turn it back around, and if they can't keep Bobrovsky, getting Hellebuyck sure would feel like a win.
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