Aggressive trade attempts being made to move Sergei Bobrovsky out of Florida

The Florida Panthers got swept 4-0 by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference semifinals and the team is forced to make some room on its cap space during the offseason. The cap situation in Florida isn’t simple: captain Aleksander Barkov’s new deal kicks in next season ($10M AAV) as well as Carter Verhaeghe, who jumps from $1M to $4.16M next season. Jonathan Huberdeau is entering the last year of his deal next season and will get a nice raise from $5.9M AAV. He became the first Panthers player with a 100-point season. That’s a lot of money when you have goalie Sergei Bobrovsky’s cap hit of $10 million on top of it all… They only have $3.07 million available under the cap.

When you face the maths, the trade rumours surrounding Bobrovsky make more and more sense. And chatter is heating up fast as Sportsnet 590 The FAN’s Nick Kypreos reported that the Panthers are looking to deal Bobrovsky, adding that Florida is willing to take on “plenty” of the goalie’s remaining salary to make it happen.

We’re talking a hefty salary: four seasons and $40 million left on a seven-year, $70 million blockbuster deal he originally signed in 2019.

“Florida may be floating out that they’d be willing to [take on] 50 percent (of his salary) and hope that it doesn’t, that they can hold back less money,” Kypreos said on Real Kyper & Bourne. “They’ve got cap issues as much as anyone out there in the league.”

Bob could be interesting for rival teams out there with a budget and a desire for an upgrade in between the pipes. The Washington Capitals are reportedly looking for an upgrade in net and after losing at the hands of the Panthers in the first-round series, they could have the goalie that beat them in their camp.

Let’s see if Bobrovsky will offer fans a monster trade in the offseason!