Unhappy with how he was treated, Bobrovsky finally shares his reasons for leaving Columbus

It’s been nearly a month since star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky walked out on the Columbus Blue Jackets in free agency, electing to sign a seven year contract with the Florida Panthers.

While fans and analysts had speculated for months that Bobrovsky would leave via free agency, the Blue Jackets reportedly always held out hope that the two sides could come to terms on a long-term deal. But now, Bobrovsky has come out saying there’s “no chance” he’d sign an extension with Columbus after how he was treated.

Check out this report from Russian hockey insider Igor Eronko:

There was no chance I’d sign an extension with CBJ. I felt I need another scenery. And it’s not just because of tensions with the Jackets [that started after the PO loss to the Caps]’

Interesting. Tensions? Could this have anything to do with the team-imposed suspension Bobrovsky faced for leaving the bench during a game earlier in the season?

Remember this?

Essentially, Bobrovsky was angry after getting pulled by head coach John Tortorealla in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning and decided to hit the showers early, despite their being nearly 12 minutes left in the game. This angered the team’s coaching and management staff and led to the team imposed suspension.

Well… guess what? Bob didn’t like that one bit…

Again from Eronko:

Congratulations, Blue Jackets… you just played yourself. You played hardball with your star goaltender and he elected to walk away. Not a smart move by CBJ coaching staff and management.