NHL Free Agency 2019: 3 most questionable moves

Lehner Leaves NY

Robin Lehner signs one-year, $5 million contract with Chicago Blackhawks. New York Islanders sign Semyon Varlamov to four-year, $20 million deal.

Forget that the Islanders downgraded immensely, both of these deals came out of the blue. The New York Islanders had a little over $20M in cap space this off-season to re-sign their first starting goaltender since Rick DiPietro.

Billy Smith and DiPietro were the last pure starting goaltenders to backstop the team for more than one season at a time. That’s a span of thirty years dating back to Smith’s last in 1989.

Everyone who knows his story was rooting for Robin Lehner this year, and he became a Vezina finalist for the first time after discovering he suffers from bipolar disorder and addiction last spring. He had been building on above-average seasons with some inept Buffalo Sabres teams, but the ’18-’19 season was his first display of consistently excellent goaltending. He looked poised to get rich this off-season but has to prove himself once again.

Those who know the volatility, as well as the rewards, for the goaltending position thought that Lehner would seek a hefty long-term deal this summer from the team that he carried to the playoffs. Instead, Lehner is with his third team in three years and on a bargain contract for the Chicago Blackhawks. Adding to the volatility of Lehner’s situation is the small chance that he competes with a healthy Corey Crawford for starts.

The Blackhawks needed a replacement for Crawford, though as the two-time Stanley Cup champion deals with lingering injuries. They also improved their defense by adding Calvin de Haan to the top-four.

It appears that Chicago and Lehner are betting he will build on this past season and will sign a bigger deal a year from now when Crawford comes off the books. All in all, the Blackhawks are looking like contenders again as they have four defenders to fill out the top-four and just added an NHL-ready center at the draft, Kirby Dach. Now they have their goalie and are ready for a playoff run.

But what were the Islanders thinking? Instead of re-signing Lehner, they go with Semyon Varlamov at the same price? Perhaps Lehner was looking for a better team, which he found, but the Islanders aren’t terrible.

That is, until they replaced Lehner with Varlamov. Varlamov himself isn’t terrible, but he won’t compete for a Vezina, ever. He also isn’t worth anywhere close to $5M per year. The Islanders’ have two glorified backups now instead of the Vezina finalist they had last year.

There is a report that the Islanders extended an offer to Lehner but that it would only last “a couple of hours.” They then went ahead and signed another goalie. Lehner apparently wasn’t looking at other teams, but let the deadline pass without accepting it.

Maybe the Islanders were testing his loyalty? So, I guess, Lehner failed? The contract they gave to Semyon Varlamov looked desperate but apparently, they offered it while Lehner was still making up his mind. What a stupid decision by the Islanders’ front office. It makes the Habs’ offer sheet look smart.

Sergei Bobrovsky

Bob signs seven-year, $70 million contract with the Florida Panthers.

Woah. Huge contract, but a huge pickup for the Florida Panthers as well. It is the maximum amount of money and term Sergei Bobrovsky could have realistically gotten, and Florida was his team of choice. Bob becomes the highest paid goalie to sign as a free agent in the salary cap era.

Bobrovsky is a quality netminder, and the Panthers have a clear need in net after Roberto Luongo retired and James Reimer was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. No one is arguing about the fit in Florida, the problem is the term and money. The Panthers have an incomplete roster still and are short a goaltender to back up Bobrovsky, with about $5M of cap room.

Sergei Bobrovsky has won two Vezina’s and has never had a down year in nine NHL seasons. That is to say, in the regular season. Bob is a workhorse and has started at least 60 games the past three years.

Those numbers standout but it can’t be good for his durability down the road. Florida might have a goalie that’s worth close to $10 million now, but five, six years down the road they will be paying him a boatload of money to back up Spencer Knight.

Another reason to flinch at this contract is Bobrovsky’s playoff performance. Florida can count on him to get them into the playoffs, but once they’re in it, they may have a ghost between the pipes. He earned his stripes in last year’s playoffs, posting a .925 save percentage.

The five postseasons before that were consistently bad, however. His track record in the playoffs include a GAA of at least 3.18 in the past 3 seasons with save percentages hovering around .900. Bobrovsky said he wants to win a cup, but it probably won’t be possible in Florida with him in net. His Columbus Blue Jackets were known for bowing early in the playoffs and it might be a similar fate for the Panthers. That makes this overreaching deal sting a bit more.

On the bright side, Bobrovsky is coming off a career year, even if he didn’t win the Vezina. He posted an incredible nine shutouts during the regular season. He came up big for the Blue Jackets in the playoffs as well, at least through one round. It’s a sign that he might have a few golden years left. Time will tell if this deal pays off and if Bobrovsky can perform consistently though a single postseason. Until that happens, this contract is ominous.