The Florida Panthers' chances of trading for Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky before the Feb. 25 deadline are "slim," a source told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.
The Panthers did inquire about the netminder, but the asking price was too high considering Bobrovsky is a pending unrestricted free agent and could be acquired without losing assets, LeBrun added.
On Monday, it was reported that the Panthers were interested in trading for Bobrovksy and were enticing him with an eight-year extension. If Bobrovsky waits until July 1 to sign a contract, he can only receive a maximum of seven years.
A summer acquisition of the netminder may be easier for the Panthers, as the club still has James Reimer and Roberto Luongo under contract until 2021 and 2022, respectively, with a combined cap hit of $7.93 million.
Bobrovsky, 30, has two Vezina Trophies to his name, but is in the midst of one of his worst seasons. He currently owns a .901 save percentage and a 3.01 goals-against average over 37 games.
