Florida Panthers Have A lot of Irons in the Fire When it Comes to the Goalie Market
Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Power Play segment with Craig Button and Steve Kouleas. There, he was asked about the Florida Panthers goalie situation. Are they going to sign Sergei Bobrovsky or will they trade for Connor Hellebuyck, Jordan Binnington or someone else?
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: Will Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers Make a Deal?
Steve Kouleas: “Florida, what’s happening in the Panthers crease? What’s option A? What’s option B? And is there an option C? Dave, go.”
Dave Pagnotta: “They’re looking still, and conversations are still there with Sergei Bobrovski in terms of looking to sign him to a five to six-year deal. I think the ideal for them is getting him around the $4 million range on that. I don’t get the sense that that’s where he wants to go, but they’re trying to bridge whatever gap they’ve got there with respect to AAV. It’s not necessarily the term that’s the issue for the Florida Panthers, it’s the dollars itself.
The backup plan, it still sounds guys like they’re poking around on Connor Hellebuyck. There was a lot of talk about that in the last couple hours of trying to do that. Now, my guess – I don’t know this definitively – I’ve heard Eetu Eetu Luostarinen name kind of poking around, and he’s got about a $3 million cap hit. But my guess would be, if I’m Winnipeg, I’m insisting on (Anton) Lundell, and Florida has been adamant they don’t want to do it. I don’t know if there’s been a shift in mindset, but that’s just kind of where things are at.
The Offers Need to Improve if the Winnipeg Jets are Going to Trade Connor Hellebuyck
They don’t want to move him. Winnipeg may insist, can there be something met in the middle there with respect to it? But talks have re-engaged from what I was sold by multiple people with respect to Hellebuyck and Florida, and if that doesn’t work on top of Bobrovsky, there’s a lot of guys out there in terms of the goaltending market.
They’ve checked in on on Jordan Binnington. I’m sure they’re checking in on other guys as well with respect to the market and where things may be at. But this is the Florida Panthers and Bill Zito, you can’t really count them out of pretty much anything because they seem to find a way.”
NHLRumors.com Note: The trade winds are swirling surrounding Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets. Whether he has or hasn’t submitted a trade is up for debate. But it is clear the Florida Panthers have checked in on him and are still after him. Lots of smoke on Wednesday afternoon. However, Hellebuyck wants to go to a winner.
As far as Sergei Bobrovsky goes, GM Bill Zito has not closed the door on bringing him back, but needs more from the player side. It is kind of shocking that it has not been done yet. But do you blame the Panthers for not wanting to commit more than four years to a goalie who will be 38 years old at the start of the season?
They have many irons in the fire.
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