The sting of the worst trade in Philadelphia Flyers history feels even sharper after the Florida Panthers captured their second straight Stanley Cup on Tuesday night.
Flyers fans won’t soon forget how Sergei Bobrovsky left the team — and his post-Philadelphia success only deepens the regret.
After just two seasons with the Flyers, Bobrovsky was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a group of mid-round draft picks that turned into Anthony Stolarz, Taylor Leier, and Justin Auger. None of the three reached anywhere near the NHL success that Bobrovsky would go on to have — although, ironically, Stolarz blossomed after leaving Philadelphia too.
Last season, the Edison, N.J., native served as Bobrovsky’s backup in Florida, going 16-7-2 with a 2.03 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage, and two shutouts. Together, the former Flyers helped Florida defeat the Edmonton Oilers in seven games to hoist the Cup.
Stolarz also thrived this season with Craig Berube’s Toronto Maple Leafs, finishing 21-8-3 with a 2.14 GAA, a .926 save percentage, and a career-best four shutouts — good enough to earn a Vezina Trophy vote.
As for Bobrovsky, now 36, he delivered one of the finest playoff runs of his career, finishing 16-7 with a 2.20 GAA, a .914 save percentage, and three shutouts. The two-time Vezina winner has now reached three straight Stanley Cup Finals, winning the last two with Florida.
Bobrovsky originally arrived in Philadelphia right after the team’s 2010 run to the Cup Final. Flyers GM Danny Briere, who played alongside Bobrovsky and witnessed the fallout from his departure firsthand, should know better than most how costly it can be to give up on young goaltenders too soon.
This past season, Briere’s Flyers finished with the NHL’s worst team save percentage (.872), well behind the next-worst team, the Buffalo Sabres (.880).
It remains to be seen whether prospects like Sam Ersson or Aleksei Kolosov can develop into reliable starters, and veteran Ivan Fedotov — who’s still unproven at the NHL level — appears to be nearing the end of his development window.
Briere clearly understands the need to find a franchise goaltender. The question now is whether he’ll be smart enough to trade for his version of Bobrovsky — or repeat the franchise’s mistake and send him away.
Meanwhile, on the other side of one of the most infamous trades in team history, Bobrovsky has solidified his legacy as a future Hall of Famer and one of the best playoff goaltenders the league has ever seen.
