Sergei Bobrovsky blast Blue Jackets’No chance I’d sign an extension’
Sergei Bobrovsky seems immensely relieved to have left Columbus after signing a seven-year, $70-million contract with the Florida Panthers this summer. In a recent interview with Sport24’s Daria Tuboltseva, translated by Igor Eronko of Sports-Express, Bobrovsky criticized the Blue Jackets for their treatment of him during the 2018-19 campaign.
“There was no chance I’d sign an extension with (Columbus). I felt I needed a change of scenery. And it’s not just because of tensions with the Jackets,” Bobrovsky said.
Boasting elite talent in the NHL, Bobrovsky’s assessment clashed with the Blue Jackets’ view at times, particularly as Joonas Korpisalo emerged as the team’s opening day starter.
Sergei Bobrovsky to my wife @DariaTuboltseva : ‘There was no chance I'd sign an extension with #CBJ. I felt I need another scenery. And it’s not just because of tensions with the Jackets [that started after the PO loss to the Caps]'
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) July 24, 2019
The 31-year-old expressed discomfort with the team’s culture and questioned the Blue Jackets’ desire to secure him on a long-term contract. Bobrovsky mentioned that he was offered a team psychologist, despite having had his own since he was 21.
Bobrovsky’s playoff performance redeemed him, and he was arguably the biggest reason the Blue Jackets achieved an astonishing upset by sweeping the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 1.
It seems that a change of scenery and the Florida sunshine will be a welcome change for Bobrovsky, as the Panthers now have their goalie for the foreseeable future following Roberto Luongo’s retirement in June.
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