Florida Panthers Confront a Franchise-Defining Decision

The honeymoon of the 2024 and 2025 championships is well and truly over. And the situation in South Florida is starting to get very complicated this season.

Sergei Bobrovsky is 37 years old and is facing a tough 2025-26 season.

His .871 save percentage is a career low and it's killing this team's rhythm.

You simply can't win hockey games when your goalie is giving up over three goals every single night.

The Panthers are stuck at 61 points while they watch the rest of the East pull away.

Zito is the man who built this machine and won the trophies. But now he'll have to make some tough choices.

The gap to the playoffs is 8 points, and there are only 25 games left to stem the bleeding.

Boston occupies the last playoff spot with 69 points and isn't slowing down.

The Buffalo Sabres are even further ahead with 70 points and a goal differential of +19.

Florida currently has a goal differential of -17.

It's a huge gap to fill when your goalkeeper is fighting hard and trying to get the team back to winning ways.

So what does Zito do with a guy whose contract is about to expire this summer?

Bobrovsky is going to want one last big pay day because that's how the market works.

But Florida cannot afford to pay an exorbitant price for a goalie who has statistics like Bobrovsky's this year.

And let's be honest about the situation.

Some desperate GM is going to see those two Stanley Cup rings and offer him a bag of money. Is this just a bad season for him, or is age starting to affect his performance?

Should Bill Zito continue betting on Bobrovsky and offer him a new contract, or decide to let him test the UFA market this summer?

The GM faces a very difficult decision regarding his 37-year-old goaltender.