The Columbus Blue Jackets were unable to convince goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to put his signature on a contract extension this season.
There was quite a bit of consideration that general manager Jarmo Kekalainen would trade the Russian prior to the trade deadline so the team could get something for its No. 1 goaltender before he had a chance to walk away during the offseason when his contract expired and he would hit free agency.
However, Kekalainen was not of a mind to trade Bobrovsky for 25 cents or 50 cents on the dollar. He held the same philosophy with forward Artemi Panarin, who is also on track to become a free agent July 1.