Sens Seeking Backup Goalie Help

If Ottawa Senators general manager Steve Staios had one regret this past season, it wasn’t finding a suitable backup for Linus Ullmark.

It was originally thought that Leevi Merilainen would fill that role. And why not? In a similar role with Ullmark out of the Senators’ lineup the previous campaign, the 23-year-old put up spectacular numbers. Merilainen posted an 8-3-1 record, minuscule 1.99 GAA, .925 save percentage, including three shutouts. The Finn also performed admirably in Belleville, a 2.37 GAA, .913 Sv Pct in 37 games, which belies this.

But this season, the youngster appeared to take a step back, at least at the NHL level. While to his credit, Merilainen remained positive, especially during Ullmark’s leave of absence, the goaltender failed to gain consistency, posting suboptimal stats, an 8-10-1 record, 3.51 GAA, and .860 Sv Pct. Staios was forced to seek out an alternative, eventually turning to veteran netminder James Reimer.

During his season-ending media availability, the Senators GM stated, “You know, as far as the goaltending, when I talk about making decisions to help this team move forward, the one where I didn’t do a good job was on the backup position initially, the process in our room when we discussed it was on Leevi’s performance, and we still believe in Leevi, and seeing this, his numbers were better than any of the alternative goaltenders that we were looking at.

And so I didn’t do a good enough job of supporting Linus and that position, and probably didn’t put Leevi in the best position to have success as well. And we had to adjust and have James Reimer come in, and he had a very positive impact on our group, both on and off the ice.”

Fortunately for the Senators, Ullmark had a remarkable return on January 31, arguably playing his best hockey for Ottawa since being acquired down the stretch, and into the playoffs. Only Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy had more wins (15) than Ullmark (14) the remainder of the season.

With the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference on the whole being as competitive as they are, the Senators require a strong goalie tandem. Though he likely would’ve done so if not for his leave, Ullmark hasn’t played more than 49 games in a regular season. Ideally, Staios needs to identify a competent backup who can start 30-35 games.

This doesn’t necessarily mean Merilainen won’t be in the picture. A pending restricted free agent, Merilainen can be qualified at his current salary of $1.05 million, and the good news is the backstop remains waiver-eligible. Therefore, the goaltender can continue his development in Belleville or Ottawa.

Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch and ESPN Insider Kevin Weekes each report the Senators’ interest in pending unrestricted free agent Stuart Skinner.

Acquired by the Penguins from the Oilers midway through the season, Skinner has played 50 or more games in four straight seasons, displaying durability. However, his past two campaigns haven’t come close to matching his first two.

In 2022-23 and 23-24 with Edmonton, Skinner posted a 65-30-10 record, 2.67 GAA, .910 Sv Pct.. The past two seasons have seen the 27-year-old’s numbers dip, but in a backup role with a solid defense in front of him, Skinner could be a decent option.

Another pending UFA, Connor Ingram, is an intriguing possibility. Like Skinner, in 2023-24, Ingram was at the top of his career with the Coyotes. making 48 starts. This past season, Ingram was tabbed as the Oilers’ starter in mid-March after Tristan Jarry faltered, and opened the playoffs for Edmonton in goal.

Other UFA’s include Hurricanes Freddie Andersen, Panthers Daniil Tarasov.

It’s expected that the trade market will be a busy one. Goalies possibly on the move include: Jordan Binnington (St. Louis), Sebastian Cossa (Detroit), Adin Hill (Vegas), Devon Levi (Sabres), Sam Montembeault (Montreal), Anthony Stolarz (Toronto), Joseph Woll (Toronto).

Bringing back James Reimer still isn’t out of the question. When Reimer last spoke on Senators locker cleanout day, he was undecided if he’d play next season, stating it would be a family decision. At 38 years old, the native of Manitoba may call it a career.