Should the Panthers risk a six-year deal for Sergei Bobrovsky?

The internet, especially social media, was quite the place to be yesterday, when the rumor broke that soon-to-be free agent goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was seeking a six-year deal worth $42 million from either the Florida Panthers or another team. Ultimately, this news split the Panthers fan base, with many wondering why a 37-year-old would want such a long-term contract, given that he plays the most physically demanding position in the game.

However, a few people pointed out that just last summer, the Panthers signed 37-year-old Brad Marchand to a six-year, $31.5 million deal. Currently, Marchand’s deal carries a $5.25 millon cap hit every season, while Bobrovsky is coming off a deal that paid him $10 million annually, one of the NHL’s highest salaries for a netminder.

Of course, nostalgia will play a significant role in this potential new deal between a franchise legend and an organization whose core is locked up for the next five seasons, with hopes of winning at least one more Stanley Cup, if not more, before it’s over.

In 2025-26, one in which injuries plagued the entire lineup, costing the Panthers a shot at a three-peat, Bobrovsky posted a 27-23-1 record with a .877 SV% and 3.07 GAA, making these personal statistics the worst of his seven seasons in South Florida.

Interestingly, Bobrovsky is adamant about playing in the NHL until 44, becoming one of the few to achieve the feat in the past decade. In fact, the list of goalies to play meaningful games at 40 or older in the past decade is quite slim:

• 2025-26 - Jonathan Quick (40) 25 games
• 2024-25 - Marc-Andre Fleury (40) 26 games
• 2022-23 - Craig Anderson (41) 26 games
• 2021-22 - Craig Anderson (40) 31 games
• 2020-21 - Ryan Miller (40) 16 games
• 2019-20 - David Ayres (42) one game* (emergency goalie)
• 2014-15 - Martin Brodeur (42) seven games

On September 20, Bobrovsky will turn 38, putting him two seasons away from turning 40, which would only account for 33% of his new deal. Considering that hardly anyone, except Anderson, played more than 26 games after hitting 40, the Panthers would be paying someone $7 million a year to play only roughly 30.9% of their games. Moreover, the organization would most likely need another elite netminder in the No. 1 spot, earning a higher salary than Bobrovsky, to play in the other 70% of the games.

Even if the Panthers devise a plan two years from now to split the season in half, would they be able to rely on Bobrovsky in a limited role to stay sharp? Another problem to consider is that the coaches could risk taking out a hot goalie on a winning streak to keep his partner fresh and engaged. Finally, at what point does Florida consider the heir apparent to Bobrovsky, because even if he finds success in the first years of his deal, it won’t last for all six seasons. Father time remains undefeated, and if no one believes it, they can ask Tom Brady.

For those interested in a deep dive into the oldest goalies in NHL history, here’s a quick breakdown:

• Hugh Lehman became the league’s first 40-year-old netminder, playing at age 41 during the 1926-27 season, compiling a 19-22-3 record with the Chicago Blackhawks.
• Georges Hainsworth was the first goalie to skate in the Stanley Cup playoffs at 40, going 4-5 in nine games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1935-36.
• Moe Roberts is the oldest netminder on record to play in the NHL, skating for 20 minutes in a 5-2 Blackhawks loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 25, 1951, at age 46.
• Johnny Bower became the first goalie to win the Stanley Cup after turning 40, achieving the feat at 42 with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1966-67. Moreover, he became the first to skate in a playoff game at age 44, going 0-for-2 in 1968-69. Eventually, he retired after playing his final game on Dec. 10, 1969, one month after turning 45.
• The first time in NHL history that more than one 40-year-old goalie played at the same time was in 1969-70, with Bower (45), Jacques Plante (41), Gump Worsley (40), and Terry Sawchuk (40) all seeing action at some point.
• As of 2026, Dominik Hasek is the oldest goalie to win the Stanley Cup, winning his second career championship at 43 with the Red Wings in 2008.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow