Has Florida got good return on that Bobrovsky investment or it's still not enough?

[AvroArrow]

Has the team that literally just won the Stanley Cup and made back to back finals get good return for their starting goaltender ? I don't know man, very tough to say.

 

[ScottyMascotty]

If you ask me Bob slamming the door Game 1 and 7 of the cup finals is the only reason it was us and not the oilers

If Bob played better in Game 5, it would've been over for Edmonton

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

As they say in baseball, flags fly forever. They won a Cup.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Cup win = return on investment.

Obviously.

 

[bobholly39]

I mean as far as I remember it was considered a pretty risky investment.

Yes.

I was highly critical of him at the start, thought this was going to be a complete flop/worst contract ever - but he's 100% come through. So full props to him.

Has he been a top ~1-3 goalie in the league year in year out during contract, as Florida likely expected when they paid him? Absolutely not. But he's battled a lot, come back from poor seasons/playoffs and bounced back to do well. Which is good enough.

He was great in playoffs in 2023 after disappointing showings prior. Made finals.
Very solid in 2024 playoffs....but then poor in finals past game 1...but rebound in-time with very solid game 7.

Some poor seasons where he almost lost his job as a starter (or maybe - he did lose his #1 spot for a while?), but has rebounded since, and vezina finalist last year.

So yeah - definitely got a good return. Good on him for battling through some adversity and having success.

 

[Svechhammer]

I dunno, seems like a pretty good investment to me

 

[PaulD]

They got more of a return than the Habs on Price. More than the Jets got on Hellebuyck. More than the Rangers got on Shesterkin.
I could probably go on..........but YES ....big return. Panthers Hit the Jack pot with Bob!

 

[The Crypto Guy]

They literally won a cup...what kind of question is this?

 

[Voight]

Zito moving out bad contracts should not be overlooked. He was somehow able to move out Yandle and Strålman in short order if memory serves. Impressive work by Zito transforming the team by shipping out bad contracts.

Yandke was bought out with two years left, so easy enough. Only cost him a 2nd to offload Stralman.

I give him credit for not haemorrhaging assets the last two years at the deadline. Went all-in in 2022, they flopped. Learned his lesson and only did a smaller deals which has worked out tremendously.

 

[daver]

Two cup finals one cup. Vezina-nominee. And he cost lest than Mitch Marner, who have failed in the plaoffs every year in his career.

That has a nice ring to it for some reason.

 

[Oilslick941611]

Well, it depends on what your goal is, if your goal is to win the cup…its obvious.

If your goal is to hoarde prospects and be in a holding pattern for decades…no

 

[PaulD]

I thought the signing was absolutely idiotic, mainly because I don’t think any goalie is consistent or reliable enough to tie that much salary up in, but it was absolutely worth every penny given the outcome.

Let’s not forget he was one game away from the narrative being the biggest goalie collapse in history though. After Game 3 he was pretty much a lock for the Conn Smythe, then he imploded before hanging on in Game 7.

I still don’t think that much payroll on a goalie makes sense with how volatile the position is, and how you can’t buy production as reliably as you can with skaters, but the guy won them a cup, and cups are so effing hard to win that you stop caring about anything else once it’s achieved.

It’s like the TO core, if they win a cup all of it will be justified, if they don’t, they’ll be perpetually shat on for years to come.

Except Bob is one guy. Playing goal.
The Maple Leafs Core is five guys playing forward + 1 D
And Bob has more series wins than all of
them.
Ya want to compare Bob and his 10 mill a year return. Then we compare him to Price, Lunquist, and now Shesterkin.
Bob won, they didn't.

 

[Dread Clawz]

You take that risk to win a cup. You're never guaranteed a cup, no matter how stacked the roster is on paper.

They got one, largely because of him.

Mission accomplished. He could suck the rest of the way, and I'm sure Panthers fans would still not regret that deal.

Yup, we won a Cup. Bob was integral to both Cup runs. Probably the hero of game 7. End of thread.

 

[Figgy44]

I'd take on two Bobrovsky's and two Huberdeau equivalents to get a cup. Once you win, all is forgiven and forgotten. I'd deal with far worse as a fan to be in an alternate timeline where the best we had to offer in #12 and #13 for the Flames had their names engraved on that grail.

IMO, Huberdeau hate isn't fully justified. I'd be happy for him to lift the grail one day.

 

[K1984]

Panthers aren't winning the Cup if he didn't play out of his mind for the first 8 periods of the Final.

 

[PaulD]

Did Montreal get a good return on that Carey Price investment?

No. Bergevin wasted it .
Rangers never got the return on Lunquist either.
Gonna try again with Shesterkin

 

[The Nuge]

If you ask me Bob slamming the door Game 1 and 7 of the cup finals is the only reason it was us and not the oilers

Exactly. It was two pretty damn equal teams facing off, and Bob was the biggest deciding factor in 2 of the Cup final games. People can bring up the not so great value for a couple years, but at the end of the day, he was worth every last penny and more in the Cup finals. And a Cup makes it all worth it

 

[Kocur Dill]

I mean as far as I remember it was considered a pretty risky investment.

Coming from some hard times on Columbus, it was a fair speculation that his days as a Vezina caliber goalie were done. Especially since the Philly years were suspect given their goalie voodoo.

That said. I think this is a good circumstance for HFB posters to pump the breaks on trashing Gibson as much as they do until he is on a team that is legit.

Bob was hot/cold in Philly and CBJ, both teams that are, as of the past 2 decades, a riddle box year in and year out.

 

[seafoam]

Coming from some hard times on Columbus, it was a fair speculation that his days as a Vezina caliber goalie were done. Especially since the Philly years were suspect given their goalie voodoo.

That said. I think this is a good circumstance for HFB posters to pump the breaks on trashing Gibson as much as they do until he is on a team that is legit.

Bob was hot/cold in Philly and CBJ, both teams that are, as of the past 2 decades, a riddle box year in and year out.

Most goalies (aside from the very best) do get hot and cold. It's the nature of the position.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

If I'm being honest I thought it was overpay. But he's shown that he's worth every penny let alone the generous tax cut in Florida. But no Panther will be wearing 72 again. Or 5, 13, 16, or 19.

If you're a goalie that has Bob in your name or have a Bobby-like nickname the chances are that it'll very much work out. All the way back to the Beezer.

Especially since the Philly years were suspect given their goalie voodoo.

I deem Philly's luck with goalies officially cursed. The second they get a potential stud he's convicted. Kind of funny how it keeps happening to Philly but also quite sad, considering both the Flyers ex-goalies won the cup with Florida as starter and back-up.

 

[behemolari]

If Bob played better in Game 5, it would've been over for Edmonton

would have should have..

its the cup. period.

 

[Canadiens Ghost]

Won a Cup and was a big part of it... duh.

 

[ps241]

I mean as far as I remember it was considered a pretty risky investment.

Yes they 1000% got what they paid for and more!! Really ballsy move that looked bad for a while but turned out to be a home run.

Cup or bust baby!!

 

[Plural]

They won. So yes, they got what they wanted.

 

[RogerRogerr]

Bob was worth it after last season imo, at which point a thread could have had a decent discussion. After this year it's unequivocable.