Sergei Andreyevich Bobrovsky (; born 20 September 1988) is a Russian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets, with whom he became recognized as one of the NHL's top goaltenders. Nicknamed "Bob", Bobrovsky is a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, winning in the 2012–13 and 2016–17 seasons while a member of the Blue Jackets.
Playing career
Philadelphia Flyers (2010–2012)
Bobrovsky was never drafted into the NHL. Philadelphia Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren has said that the Flyers considered drafting him during the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, but ultimately decided not to given the difficulty of signing Russian players at the time. After playing his first four professional seasons with Metallurg Novokuznetsk in Russia, Bobrovsky signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Flyers on 6 May 2010. He was initially slated to begin his North American career with the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Adirondack Phantoms, but after impressing coaches during training camp, Bobrovsky replaced the injured starter Michael Leighton on the roster. After Leighton recovered, Bobrovsky continued to share goaltending duties with Brian Boucher.
Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette named Bobrovsky the starting goaltender for the opening game of the 2010–11 season against the Pittsburgh Penguins on 7 October 2010. In his NHL debut, Bobrovsky picked up a 3–2 win and was named the game's first star in the first regular season game at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center. At 22 years and 17 days, he became the youngest goaltender to win a season-opening game for the Flyers, eclipsing Ron Hextall, who started at 22 years and 159 days on 9 October 1986. Bobrovsky was also the first Flyers rookie goaltender to win his NHL debut since Antero Niittymäki did so in 2004. Bobrovsky enjoyed a successful rookie season, posting a 28–13–8 record along with a .915 save percentage. However, after a disappointing showing during the playoffs in which he was often benched in favour of backup Brian Boucher, the Flyers signed Ilya Bryzgalov to a nine-year contract to be their new starting goaltender.
Columbus Blue Jackets (2012–2019) After a season backing-up Bryzgalov, on 22 June 2012, Bobrovsky was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Columbus' second-round draft pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft (used to select Anthony Stolarz), a fourth-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft (used to select Taylor Leier) and the Phoenix Coyotes' fourth-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft (used to select Justin Auger).
As a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Bobrovsky signed a contract with SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), but returned to the Blue Jackets when the lockout finished. After splitting time early in the season, Bobrovsky supplanted Steve Mason as Columbus' starting goaltender; it was Bobrovsky's first time as a starter since his rookie season in Philadelphia. Bobrovsky was instrumental in the Blue Jackets' push for a playoff spot, which ultimately came up just short as the team finished in ninth place in the Western Conference. Despite this, Bobrovsky had 21 wins, and career bests of a 2.00 goals against average (GAA) and a .932 save percentage. With this performance, he was awarded the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league's top goaltender during the regular season.
On 1 July 2013, Bobrovsky signed a two-year, $11.25 million contract extension with the Blue Jackets. On 3 July 2013, he was named to the NHL first All-Star team.
On 3 December 2013, Bobrovsky was injured in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning and would be out for four-to-five weeks. He returned to action on 6 January 2014, against the New York Rangers, earning a shootout victory by the score of 4–3. Bobrovsky also made a robbing glove save in the shootout on former Blue Jackets forward star Rick Nash, which was considered to be the game-saving save.
Bobrovsky backstopped the Blue Jackets in the 2014 playoffs, where they played the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals. On 19 April 2014, the Blue Jackets won their first playoff game in franchise history in Game 2 of the series, 4–3, followed by their second-ever playoff victory, in Game 4. Bobrovsky played well in Game 5, saving 48 of 50 shots for a 0.960 save percentage, although the Blue Jackets lost the game 3–1. The Blue Jackets were ultimately eliminated in Game 6 on 28 April, losing 4–3.