Sergei Bobrovsky inks surprise two-year deal in Philly

Top goaltender in free agency chooses the Flyers

After the previously agreed to trade of Anthony Stolarz to the Flyers was finalized on June 15th, the team seemed done in net for this off-season. The Flyers already had the now traded Ilya Samsonov, in addition to Filip Gustavsson and Sam Ersson in the minors. The team had plenty of cap space though so wanted to keep the options open, it just so happened Sergei Bobrovsky was as interested in the Flyers as they were interested in him.

"Look, everyone knows we lost to Sorokin this year and Shesterkin last year, both went on to win cups. It's not that we don't trust Anthony, but with the team we have, and Bob's plethora of experience in the league, it was an easy decision," GM Guertler told reporters at the press conference announcing the signing.

Bobrovsky, the soon to be 37-year old goaltender, is 3rd all-time in DCHL games played with 544. Only Frederick Anderson and Marc-Andre Fleury have played more games, with 582 and 554, respectively. Even more impressive? Bob, as he is affectionately known, played 529 of those games all for the Nashville Predators. The most unfortunate part is he has only played 22 games in the playoffs over his 9 seasons, including 3 games for the Dallas Stars following his trade there back in February.

In comparison, over the last 9 seasons the Flyers have played 117 playoff games, the problem in Philly has never been getting there, or even going on deep runs, but getting over the top and hoisting the cup. With Bob now in Philly for next 2 seasons at a $10.8m cap hit, the hope is he will be the missing piece.