from Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch,

This is the week most Blue Jackets players will get started on offseason workout routines. It has been more than three weeks since they were bumped from the first round of the playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the loins and ligaments are rested and healed.

Last summer was transformative for many players, especially goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who arrived in the fall looking less like a wrestler and more like a jockey.

Bobrovsky lost 17 pounds from his 199-pound frame, a stunning drop of body mass for a well-conditioned professional athlete. But the weight he needs to drop this summer — it’s between his ears — might prove more difficult to lose.

When the Blue Jackets went their separate ways shortly after being ousted by the Penguins, management, coaches and Bobrovsky agreed that his struggles during the playoffs were mental. In five games, he had an .882 save percentage and 3.88 goals-against average.

In his exit meetings with management, Bobrovsky was said to be receptive to the idea of working with a sports psychologist or doing other types of mental training to get over his struggles.

continued