Columbus Blue Jackets: Goaltending
The Columbus Blue Jackets question at the goaltender position starts and ends with Sergei Bobrovsky.
Sergei Bobrovsky is a top flight goaltender when he is on top of his game, but his skills are not the question. The biggest concern for the Columbus Blue Jackets is his health. Sergei missed a large chunk of last year because of various injuries.
For the Columbus Blue Jackets to be successful, Bobrovsky will have to be healthy. One way the Blue Jackets will be able to help keep him healthy is finding a viable backup. The Blue Jackets will need to find a goalie that is not a liability when they decide to start them.
Backing Up Bobrovsky
There are three different players that are a viable candidate to back up Bobrovsky. The first candidate is Curtis McElhinney. McElhinney is right now the first backup, but that does not mean he will be throughout the season. McElhinney is a veteran that has been a decent backup, but he is replaceable. He has shown many good flashes but is not always consistent.
One candidate that will be fighting to back up Bobrovsky is Joonas Korpisalo. Joonas played in 31 games last year for the Jackets and showed some flashes. Korpisalo finished the season 16-11-4 which was very impressive for his first taste of NHL action. He led the Blue Jackets with 16 wins.
Along with Korpisalo, the Columbus Blue Jackets have Anton Forsberg in their farm system who will also be given a look to make the Columbus Blue Jackets. Forsberg has played in 9 games over the last two seasons for the Blue Jackets and has been underwhelming, but he did have an impressive playoff run with the newly named Cleveland Monsters finishing 9-0-2 in the AHL playoffs in which the Monsters claimed the Calder Cup.
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Predictions
Sergei Bobrosky will have a rebound year. Bobrovsky has shown his skills as a goaltender winning the Vezina and wasn’t named Russia’s starting goalie for the World Cup of Hockey based solely on his past. Bobrovsky has looked good for the Russians, and he will be able to build off the momentum from the World Cup of Hockey. This momentum will lead him to a successful NHL campaign.
The backup to Sergei Bobrovsky to start the season will be Curtis McElhinney. McElhinney is the most veteran of the Columbus Blue Jackets backup candidates and is the only one that has a one-way deal. With McElhinney backing up Bobrovsky, Korpisalo and Forsberg will continue to develop in Cleveland because they will have more opportunities to play.
While McElhinney will be given the shot to start the season, someone in the farm system will end up replacing him. Korpisalo stands out because he shined last year. Joonas has shown that he can produce, but he will not start there because of McElhinney’s contract situation.