Columbus GM Scott Howson might not be done addressing his team’s goaltending situation after acquiring Sergei Bobrovsky from Philadelphia, but he accomplished his mission for the draft.
“I wanted to come out of here with a goalie,” Howson told the Columbus Dispatch. “That was really important to me, and the market is shrinking fast. (Josh) Harding signed (in Minnesota), (Anders) Lindback got traded (to Tampa Bay) ... the market became pretty scarce. That’s a factor in the price we paid.”
Howson says he’s comfortable heading into the season with Bobrovsky and Steve Mason battling for the starting position.
He also dismissed Bobrovsky’s “not great” numbers (.899 save percentage) in 2011-12 after an impressive rookie season.
“If you remember back to the Winter Classic this year, he was playing better than [Ilya] Bryzgalov,” said Howson. “He had an up and down year. That’s not uncommon for a young goaltender.”
To be sure, Howson would be taking a chance with a Bobrovsky-Mason tandem. But in fairness, what’s the alternative? He could make a play for Roberto Luongo; however, Luongo might not waive his no-trade clause to join the Blue Jackets.
After Luongo, the list of available goalies falls off a cliff in terms of quality. If you’re going to roll the dice, it might as well be on a still-developing 23-year-old.