Sergei Bobrovsky won a Vezina Trophy three seasons ago with a 48-game regular season, truncated by a lockout. With constant health issues and a very scant postseason resume, he hasn’t earned the right to be in the discussion of the upper echelon of goaltenders.
But what he said after his Blue Jackets started 0-4-0 was still shocking.
“I have zero confidence right now,” he admitted to the Columbus Dispatch after getting lit up for six goals on 26 shots in Wednesday’s 7-3 loss to the Senators. “It’s a tough time.”
Yes, it is. And so far, it means good times for the Rangers and Islanders.
Columbus was expected to be near the top of the Metropolitan Division, having added the likes of Brandon Saad to help their offense. Bobrovsky was supposed to be the rock, not the biggest question. There is no relying on his backup, Curtis McElhinney, and now there’s no knowing how much more time coach Todd Richards has behind the bench.
The Las Vegas sports books put him at 5-to-1 odds as being the first NHL coach fired. (And as Rangers headman Alain Vigneault might say, “If I were a betting man . . .”). But what can Richards really do when the guy who is supposed to be his best player arguably has been his worst? Bobrovsky, 27, has made all four starts, and has given up at least four goals in each game for a total of 18 on 106 shots — compiling a putrid .830 save percentage. Is that worth a $7.425 million salary-cap hit through the next three seasons?
The Bob will get the go again Friday night when the similarly struggling Maple Leafs come to Ohio, and there’s a chance he could find his game there, right? Maybe Richards will be merciful and give him the day off on the second leg of a back-to-back, Saturday night in Chicago against the powerhouse Blackhawks.
But if the Blue Jackets continue to look so disjointed, the Islanders will come into town Oct. 20, and they surely will smell blood.
Though it may be impossible to bury a division rival this early, it would be a bit of a relief for the Rangers and Isles if the Jackets get themselves behind the eight-ball. The prediction was both teams would have to fight Columbus for a playoff spot, and that is still a possibility. But the Rangers so aptly handled the Blue Jackets’ physicality by sweeping the season-opening home-and-home. If Bobrovsky is shaky, the Islanders’ potent offense surely will expose him.
The Blue Jackets need to turn it around fast or they’ll be left behind, and they might be leaving an unemployed Richards in their wake. Suffering through a monumental amount of injuries last season, they know what it’s like to have to dig out a deep early-season hole. They played as well as anyone for the final two months, and still missed the playoffs.
If the Jackets turn out to be no good, then the Rangers and Isles might spend March worrying about playoff seeding rather than berths.
Big-time headache
Here’s the last thing any sport wants — to be linked to the way the NFL has dealt with concussions.
But TSN.ca this week uncovered an email from a senior NHL lawyer to commissioner Gary Bettman and his deputy Bill Daly saying, in part, the league should “leave the dementia issues up to the NFL!”
Goodness.
The NHL is in the midst of being sued by more than 80 former players for being negligent in their dealing with concussions, even promoting violence in the sport while knowing about the long-term effects of concussions. Daly said in an email he did not “intend to try the case in the media,” though another court filing from the league was obtained by TSN that read:
“Publicly available information related to concussions and their long-term effects, coupled with the events that had transpired — i.e., the players incurring head injuries — should have allowed (players) to put two and two together.”
Two and two together — yeesh. The league probably should expedite that expansion process — they’re going to need the money.
The Duke is back!
Had to know this was going to happen soon, right? Anthony Duclair was the Rangers stud prospect who was traded to the Coyotes at last season’s deadline in the deal that brought back Keith Yandle. Now he’s out in the desert, having netted his first hat trick on Thursday, part of a 4-0 win over the Ducks that’s also had his former Team Canada partner, Max Domi, notch a goal and an assist. (And kudos to NHL.com with the headline, “I Do Duclair!”)
Duclair and Domi are going to be fun to watch this season. The Rangers hope Yandle can bring them a Stanley Cup so they don’t have the spend the next decade watching The Duke rub their faces in this trade.
Rich man’s sketchy math
So the owners of the Ducks, Henry and Susan Samueli, said they are now losing “less double-digit millions” per year, according to the LA Times. The Ducks are about $7 million below the salary cap and in the bottom half of revenue in the league. But then there’s this:
“Given that the value of the franchise increases faster than your negative cash flow, if you can sustain it, it’s a wonderful thing to keep,” Henry Samueli said. “So we have absolutely no intentions of selling the team. We love it.”
The family bought the team for $70 million in 2005. Forbes estimates it’s now worth $365 million. Shed a tear yet?
Stay tuned …
… to Jaromir Jagr’s Florida Panthers. Jagr is 43 years old, and he doesn’t care if pictures of him sleeping next to a young model are public. He is the leader of a very young and talented team that could be in the postseason picture. He recently said, “I know I can play to 50” — even if he didn’t mean in the NHL the whole time — and it’s hard to not believe him after goals like this one.
Parting Shot
There might be more focus on Connor McDavid and his 0-4 Oilers, but No. 2 overall pick Jack Eichel is no slouch.