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The future of the Florida Panthers’ starting goalie may be up in the air, but for right now, they still have Sergei Bobrovsky to anchor down the crease. The trading of Spencer Knight means that the Cats are bringing in yet another new backup goalie for next season. During the off-season, Bill Zito made a trade with the Blue Jackets for Daniil Tarasov. Bobrovsky has played somewhere between 50 to 58 games in almost every season he’s been in Florida, so I expect that’ll be his workload next year as well. When Zito spoke about Tarasov after signing him, he said, “Our Goaltending Excellence Department was very high on him, and we are very optimistic about his future with our franchise.” Perhaps they see Tarasov as an option for the future starting goalie, but how quickly that question gets answered depends on how long Bobrovsky decides to play as he’s heading into the final year of his current contract.
Sergei Bobrovsky:
More than likely cementing his spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame, Bobrovsky led his team to its second straight Stanley Cup. He had very similar regular-season stats to the 2023-24 season, although he played four fewer games. This year, he played 54 games, went 33-19-2, and was undefeated in shootouts. By the raw numbers, he allowed five fewer goals than the year before at 130 vs 135. However, the GAA was up slightly to 2.44 compared to 2.37, but he saw 207 fewer shots this year; 1377 SA down from the 1584 SA a year prior. As a result, his SV% was down a bit as well at a .906 vs the .915, but he did have almost the same number of shutouts, 5 this year vs 6 last year. I think this year’s stats are more reflective of the team not necessarily coasting through the regular season, but having more games where it’s not 110% effort on the ice for the full 60 minutes. The postseason tells a different story on the statsheet. In 23 games, he went 16-7 with a 2.20 GAA and a .914 SV%. During the first Cup Run, he went 16-8 with a 2.33 GAA and a .906 SV%. Bob also saw 35 more SA, allowed two fewer goals, and made 37 more saves than the year before, while also posting three shutouts, and he could’ve had as many as 5 if not for late third-period goals. The only team he didn’t have a shutout against was the Edmonton Oilers, where the late third-period goal from Podkolzen broke the Game 6 shutout bid. Florida needed Bob early in games where opponents were able to get quick chances right off of puck drop. There were games where Bobrovsky’s performance got overshadowed by other game shenanigans, like in Game 5 against Tampa Bay or in Game 3 against Edmonton. It can’t be overstated how important Bob has been to the Cup Runs, especially when all his teammates praise his preparation and how much trust they have in him in the net. He’s not likely to accept many compliments and is always quick to give credit to his teammates whenever he posts a shutout.
Daniil Tarasov:
Tarasov is a young goalie at only 26. He played 20 games for the Blue Jackets last season with a 7-10-2 record, .881 SV%, and a 3.54 GAA. He played two games down in the AHL with Columbus, where he went 1-1-0 with a 2.96 GAA and a .908 SV%. It’s tough to judge a young goalie sometimes on teams that are mid or towards the bottom of the league. Along with that, goalies tend to develop later than forwards or defensemen. However, Tarasov has had success at the junior level, where he won a bronze medal at the 2019 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship. In 2016, he played for Russia at the IIHF U18 World Junior Championship, where he went 2-1-0 with a .921 SV% and 2.11 GAA. Bill Zito said, “Daniil is an athletic-sized goaltender with National Hockey League experience and carries a tremendous pedigree from his junior career.” Tarasov has also played in the KHL with an 11-4-3 record and a .924 SV% alongside a 2.13 GAA. Tarasov is from Bobrovsky’s hometown of Novokuznetsk. In a lovely full-circle moment, Daniil’s dad, Vadim, was Bob’s idol, and Bobrovsky was Daniil’s idol; they now get to play together as a tandem. Time will tell how good Tarasov can be for the Panthers, but I’d expect his numbers to improve with the Florida Panthers roster in front of him and the Cats’ goaltending department to help in his development.
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