Maple Leafs Are Betting on Sergei Bobrovsky to Turn Back Time

The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed a big part of their Stanley Cup hopes in the hands of a future Hall of Fame goaltender. When John Chayka took over as general manager, he wasted little time putting his stamp on the organization. His first major move was trading Joseph Woll to the Philadelphia Flyers. A few days later, he signed Sergei Bobrovsky to a three-year contract, making it pretty clear who he believes will be carrying the load in goal.

Whether fans agree with those decisions or not is almost beside the point now. The reality is that the Maple Leafs’ season may ultimately come down to one very simple question: Can Bobrovsky still play at an elite level?

Bobrovsky’s Résumé Speaks for Itself

There isn’t much Bobrovsky hasn’t accomplished. He is a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, has played more than 900 NHL games, and has been the backbone of several deep playoff runs. Few active goaltenders can match the body of work he has put together over the past decade and a half.

If the Maple Leafs had acquired the 30-year-old version of Bobrovsky, there probably wouldn’t be much debate. The move would have been viewed as a home run. But that’s not the question Toronto is answering. The question is whether the 37-year-old Bobrovsky can still deliver the kind of goaltending that has made him one of the best goalies of his generation.

And that is where things get interesting.

Father Time Is Undefeated, and Bobrovsky Is Getting Older

Bobrovsky enters this season at an age where every great athlete eventually faces the same challenge: Father Time. Goaltenders often enjoy longer careers than skaters, and many continue playing at a high level well into their 30s. But history also tells us something important: when decline comes, it can arrive quickly.

Some great players seem to ignore age for years. Then, almost overnight, the game starts to catch up. Others continue proving everyone wrong. Which category Bobrovsky belongs to will not be decided by his résumé. It will be decided by what happens on the ice over the next eight months. That is what makes this signing so fascinating.

Toronto Is Betting on Today, Not Tomorrow

There will undoubtedly be plenty of debate about whether the Maple Leafs should have stayed with Woll. That discussion is understandable. But that discussion misses the bigger picture.

John Chayka was not trying to build the best goaltending situation for three years from now. He was trying to build the team that gives Toronto the best chance to win right now. Everything about this organization suggests its Stanley Cup window is open.

Auston Matthews is in his prime. The roster has been reshaped around competing immediately. The front office is not thinking about 2030. The Maple Leafs are thinking about next spring.

That means decisions have to be judged through that lens. The Bobrovsky signing is not about what he might look like at the end of the contract. It is about whether he can give the Maple Leafs the goaltending they need during this particular window.

The Pressure Belongs to Bobrovsky

Every Stanley Cup contender has a player whose performance can define the season. For some teams, it is their superstar centre. For others, it is an elite defenceman. For the Maple Leafs, we think that player is Sergei Bobrovsky.

If he delivers the kind of goaltending that made him one of the NHL’s elite goalies for so many years, Toronto has every reason to believe it can make a serious playoff run. If he doesn’t, the questions surrounding this team will grow quickly. That is the reality of playing goal.

Goaltending has always been hockey’s great equalizer. A hot goalie can carry a team farther than almost anyone expects. At the same time, average goaltending can end the Stanley Cup hopes of a roster that is otherwise good enough to compete.

John Chayka has made his choice. Now the Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup hopes rest in the glove hand of Sergei Bobrovsky.

[Note: I want to thank longtime Maple Leafs fan Stan Smith for collaborating with me on this post.] Stan’s Facebook profile can be found here.]