Sergei Bobrovsky has been worth every penny and the numbers prove it

When the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Sergei Bobrovsky this summer, the boo birds came out to question the move. In particular, the criticism focused on a 38-year-old goalie living up to his $7 million cap hit and no-trade clause.

But after seeing his performances in Vegas and Colorado, last season’s two Western Conference finalists, there is little doubt that Bobrovsky has been worth every penny. And now, the numbers prove that assertion.

A recent post by MoneyPuck on X highlighted this season’s early goaltending leaders. Among them, Bobrovsky ranked much higher than most would have expected.

The metric used to rank the early-season success of this year’s netminders is Goals Saved Above Expected. The current leader is Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger with an unreal 6.6 goals saved above expected. That number should come down a bit as the season wears on.

But when looking further down the list, Bobrovsky ranks seventh, with 4.7 goals above expected. That's 0.2 lower than fourth-place holder, Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers.

Now, it’s worth noting that through the first batch of games, the expectation was for Bobrovsky to surrender upwards of 16 goals. He’s given up 12, considering that the Maple Leafs' defense hasn’t exactly been ironclad. In fact, there were a few hiccups there on Saturday night in Colorado.

When looking at the raw metrics, however, it’s clear that Bobrovsky has given the Maple Leafs what they hoped to get.

Maple Leafs have gotten something they haven’t had in a long time with Sergei Bobrovsky

It seems that an endless narrative for the Maple Leafs has been their lack of a high-end goalie who could make timely saves and keep them in games.

To be fair, the Leafs really haven’t had a goalie like that since Ed Belfour in the early 2000s. The carousel in the crease has yielded some good moments for the Maple Leafs. But none of the goalies since Belfour has truly provided the type of performances that could paper over poor defense.

Since the COVID era, goalies like Jack Campbell, Freddie Andersen, Ilya Samsonov, and Joseph Woll have been unable to steal games for the Leafs. While Anthony Stolarz had a solid run a couple of seasons ago, he hasn’t managed to stay healthy enough to be a decisive factor.

That brings us to Bobrovsky. The Leafs shouldn’t have gotten a point in Vegas after blowing a three-goal lead. Yet, “Bob” kept them in the game. On Saturday night in Colorado, the Leafs were looking ready to fall apart after Nathan MacKinnon turned the game around single-handedly.

Once again, Bob kept the Leafs in the game.

That’s what Toronto sorely lacked last season. A goalie who could keep them in the game long enough for the offense to come through. The confidence that Bobrovsky has inspired in the team became apparent late in the contest, when the Leafs iced the win.

The only challenge now will be for Stolarz to remain healthy all season long, so that he can provide Bobrovsky with the cover he needs to remain fresh all year.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow