Sergei Bobrovsky, Maple Leafs Reportedly Agree to Contract, Star Won 2 Stanley Cups with Panthers

Sergei Bobrovsky will be tasked with leading the Toronto Maple Leafs back into the playoffs one season after backstopping the Florida Panthers to a second straight Stanley Cup.

The Maple Leafs and Bobrovsky have agreed to a three-year, $7 million AAV deal in free agency, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Wednesday.

Bobrovsky, who will turn 38 in September, left the Panthers after posting the lowest save percentage of his career behind a shorthanded team in 2025-26.

He hit free agency following the expiration of his previous seven-year, $10 million AAV contract.

That contract gave Bobrovsky the second highest annual average salary for any goaltender when it was inked in 2019.

The deal paid off for the Panthers within four seasons when Bobrovsky backstopped his team to the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals before losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Bobrovsky bounced back by taking the Panthers on back-to-back Cup runs in 2023 and 2024.

The netminder posted a .910 save percentage and 2.26 goals against average with five shutouts in 47 playoff games over those two runs.

The Panthers went into the 2025-26 season with an injury-plagued roster that left Bobrovsky more exposed. Only six teams allowed more high-danger scoring chances than the Panthers did last season, per Natural Stat Trick.

Bobrovsky finished the season having recorded a career-low .877 save percentage through 52 appearances and 51 starts as the Panthers missed the playoffs.

The netminder will now look to bounce back behind a healthier defense during his 17th NHL season.

No goaltender has taken on a larger workload since 2020 than Bobrovsky, who in addition to his three Cup Final trips, has made at least 50 appearances in each of his last five regular seasons.

That workload is significant for a player who will be heading into next season as the NHL's oldest netminder following Jonathan Quick's retirement.

The Leafs might have Bobrovsky share some of his workload with a partner like Anthony Stolarz next season in order to keep him healthy for a potential playoff run next spring.

The Panthers will turn to Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid after acquiring the duo in a pair of trades earlier this week.

Bobrovsky played his first two NHL seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers before he was traded in 2012 to the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he won two Vezina Trophies prior to signing with the Panthers in 2019. He is one of 18 goaltenders in NHL history to have played at least 800 games in the league.