Maple Leafs need to think about benching Sergei Bobrovsky

Maple Leafs Not Getting Value Out of Sergei Bobrovsky’s Contract

The Maple Leafs signed Bobrovsky to a three-year, $21 million deal in the summer to be the team’s No. 1 goalie and pair him up with backup Anthony Stolarz, a pairing that helped the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup three years ago.

But so far, the results just haven’t been there for Bobrovsky, and that’s why Hiller needs to consider making him the backup and giving Stolarz the starting goalie job, at least for right now while Bobrovsky figures out how to stop a puck.

This season, Bobrovsky is 3-5-2 with a 3.29 GAA and a .885 SV%.

All of those numbers are below average, as Bobrovsky is not helping the Maple Leafs win games right now and pick up valuable points.

Instead, the 38-year-old Russian is actively costing his team games, and until he figures out how to get back on track, the team cannot afford to keep giving him so many starts.

When the Maple Leafs gave Bobrovsky his big contract this summer, they were hoping that he would be the two-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie that he was with the Panthers, one who was a huge reason why Florida won two cups.

Instead, Bobrovsky is continuing a bad trend of poor performances, as he was bad for Florida last year with a 3.07 GAA and a .887 SV%.

Panthers fans warned Maple Leafs fans that Bobrovsky was on the decline, but Maple Leafs fans did not want to listen, as they were hoping they’d get the two-time Vezina Trophy-winning version of Bobrovsky.

Instead, they are getting the bad version of him, and right now, although it’s very early, Bobrovsky’s contract is looking like a complete bust for Toronto.

Maple Leafs Need To Go To Goalie Platoon System

So far this season, the Maple Leafs have given Bobrovsky 10 starts and Stolarz five starts, while third-string goalie Artur Akhtyamov has zero starts.

Going forward, at least until Bobrovsky gets his groove back, the Maple Leafs should go towards a more 50/50 timeshare for their goalies, or potentially even go to a three-goalie system, as they cannot afford to give up valuable points with Bobrovsky’s poor play.

The Maple Leafs would probably love for Stolarz to start for them right now, but since he’s injury-prone, they cannot afford to give him too many starts, as he is seemingly always hurt.

At the same time, Stolarz is giving the Maple Leafs the best chance to win right now, so he should get more starts for the team.

In contrast to Bobrovsky’s poor numbers, Stolarz’s are stellar for Toronto, as he’s 4-1 with a 2.79 GAA and a .907 SV%.

This is probably not what Toronto thought they would do so early in the season.

But when a playoff spot may very well be decided by a point or two next spring, Toronto can’t keep giving starts to a goalie struggling as badly as Bobrovsky, and that’s why Stolarz needs to play more right now, and why “Bob” needs to ride the pine.