Details emerged Saturday as the Columbus Blue Jackets confirmed signing goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to a four-year contract extension.
The deal is for $29.7 million, according to . More important, it is an amicable end to what could have been a contentious contract proce s.
It's also a clear indication the Jackets are pleased with and plan to keep Bobrovsky as their No. 1 goal. He certainly is being paid like one, with a salary cap figure of Andrelton Simmons Jersey $7.425 million that is second only to the New York Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist.
As Yahoo! Sports noted, are making le s per season, but are signed for more years. Let other teams sweat about injuries and whether they'll may for a guy six years down the line.
Despite the Jackets' middling record they were 18-18-3 ahead of Saturday's home Fred Lynn Jersey game against the New York Islanders.
Soon after the deal was announced Friday, Bobrovsky allowed four goals on 31 shots against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It wasn't an inspired performance for the goalie or the team. That's been a theme in a Matt Harvey Jersey season in which injuries have been a problem and discipline has vanished at times.
Is Bobrovsky a long-term answer? Certainly GM Jarmo Kekalainen sees the po sibility by locking up Bobrovsky threw 2019. Two things are certain: The Blue Jackets have certainty in goal, and they avoided a potential conflict.
We wanted to make sure we got on it early enough that it didnt get to a point where theres a deadline, Kekalainen told The Dispatch. We had plenty of time to get this done, and we had the full intention of getting it done.
Bobrovsky is 15-10-2 with a 2.75 goals-against average, .917 save Reggie Jackson Jersey percentage and one shutout in 27 games. Not bad; not great so far this season.
There's a track record to consider in evaluating Bobrovsky. He carried the team into playoff contention in 2012-13 en route to winning the Vezina Trophy. He got them to the Stanley Cup playoffs last season and had a solid run against the Pittsburgh Penguins. And the Jackets believe he can hit those marks again.
Goaltending, Kekalainen believes, is the common thread of succe sful teams.
We believe hes only going to improve, Kekalainen said. Ultimately, its up Garrett Richards Jersey to the player to prove hes worth the contract he gets, but we evaluate these players every day. We believe, with his hard work and dedication, hes going to be the top, or one of the top, goalies in this league for a long time.
Congratulations on the contract; now earn your salt. And there's good reason to believe he can, in part because at 26 he should be reaching his peak years.
The determination, of course, doesn't rest solely with Bobrovsky. The Jackets must continue to Brandon Phillips Jersey build around him and show signs of doing just that with recent deals for center Brandon Dubinsky and winger Nick Foligno.
We want to make sure the core stays in place, Kekalainen said.
