Flyers' Sergei Bobrovsky Trade Caused Long Term Consequences

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky hoisted the Stanley Cup for the second time in two seasons.

At the same time, Philadelphia Flyers' fans can only sit back and speculate what could have happened in the City of Brotherly Love had the front office not traded Bobrovsky after two years with the team.

Bobrovsky was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a bunch of mid-round draft picks. The only player to come from those picks who achieved some modicum of success in the NHL was goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who ironically went on to leave the Flyers and become Bobrovsky's teammate in Florida. Stolarz would win the Cup with the Panthers in 2024 before leaving for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

That would be three Stanley Cup rings for two former Flyers netminders in the span of two seasons. Stolarz would raise the Cup in 2024 as he finished with a .925 save percentage as the backup to Bobrovsky that season.

Stolarz had a good season with the Leafs this season under former Flyers' coach Craig Berube. He had a 2.14 goals against average and had four shutouts. The Leafs lost to the Panthers in the second round of the playoffs in seven games.

Bobrovsky, who remarkably went undrafted, has gone on to pick up two Vezina Trophies for the best goalkeeper of the season. He had a tremendous run in the 2025 postseason as the Panthers won 16 games and had three shutouts. It was the third consecutive season the Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final.

The goalie affectionately known as "Bob" to fans and teammates has grown since his trade from the Flyers. He has grown exponentially. The Flyers, meanwhile, have been struggling without a solid goalkeeper after they let two great ones leave the nest.

The Flyers had the worst team save percentage this season as their .872 mark trailed the next worst team, the Buffalo Sabres by a relatively decent margin. The Sabres had a .880 save percentage.

Current Flyers' general manager Danny Briere, who was a teammate of Bobrovsky in Philadelphia, needs a franchise goalkeeper as the cupboard is relatively bare. The Flyers have three inexperienced netminders and time will tell if the Flyers allow them to develop or they trade their future away, like they did Bobrovsky and Stolarz.