This offseason one of the most compelling items on General Manager Pierre Dorion’s to-do list is to solidify the goaltending situation for the Ottawa Senators.
The team finished six points out of the final Wildcard playoff berth.
While it’s not the only factor, key injuries to goalies Anton Forsberg and Cam Talbot contributed greatly to the Senators coming oh-so-close for the first time in six seasons.
Seven different goalies were thrust into game action, the most in franchise history. And all performed well to garner at least one point for their team.
One goalie who is definitely returning next season is Forsberg. The 30-year-old sustained MCL tears in each of his knees in February.
While it was scary at the time, the good news is Forsberg has been light skating and will hope to skate in full equipment in July or sooner. Forsberg proclaimed Friday, he will be counted on when training camp opens in September.
With two more years to go on his contract, Forsberg also needs to improve upon his performance from this past campaign. In only 28 games this season, Forsberg posted a 3.26 GAA and a .902 save percentage. In 2021-2022, he registered a .917 save percentage and 2.82 GAA.
Coming off an All-Star Game appearance for the Minnesota Wild last season, it was expected Cam Talbot would form a one-two punch with Forsberg, However, it wasn’t meant to be. The 35-year-old sustained three separate injuries, including a rib fracture days prior to opening night, missing 29 games.
Talbot never found his groove and is doubtful to return to the Senators.
“Never say never, I don’t want to close any kind of doors on my future. Obviously, with all the kids in the organization, “Forsie” (Anton Forsberg) two more years, “Sogie” (Mads Sogaard) played really well down the stretch, so both sides will kind of have to look at that. Maybe have some discussions – you never want to say never, but you never know.,” Talbot said at Friday’s season-ending media availability.
With injuries to both goalies, 22-year-old Mads Sogaard made 19 appearances for the Senators. Compiling an 8-6-3 record, Sogaard registered a 3.32 GAA, .889 Sv Pct. As his stats suggest, the Senators’ 2019 37th overall Draft selection had bouts of expected inconsistency, sprinkled with several spectacular performances.
The six-foot-seven, 196-pound, Aalborg, Denmark resident is realistic knowing there’s no guarantee he’ll start in Ottawa next season, but it wants to make it a tough decision as possible for the organization.
“I think that there are lots of things to work on. You know, even though there’s been ups and downs and good and bad games, I think it’s just a really, really big step in my career to get the chance to play this amount of games in a season for the Ottawa Senators. I think that having faith in me and letting me play in there, it’s really really cool. I’m just super thankful. It gives me a lot going into the summer. There’s no secret that when we come back here next year that I want to be here, I’m going to work as hard as I can, to at least make it a hard decision.”
To be fair, between playing in Ottawa and Belleville, Sogaard has only played 86 games over three seasons and was also injured on multiple occasions in 2022-23. Playing more American League games isn’t the worst thing for his development.
“He is the goalie of the future. He got forced into games due to injuries to veterans,” noted Senators head coach D.J. Smith.
“He had great games. He had ok games. He had bad games. He’s a kid. He’s going to be a good goalie for a long time. His best games as you realize when gets a little bit older, he’s going to give you more of these games. Instead of two in a row, he’s going to give you five in a row – that’s how you become a .924 (save percentage), .930 goalie.”
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Smith too hinted the club will address their goaltending situation in the coming months.
“Injuries between that and Belleville were unbelievable – 17 goalies or something like that – but that’s Pierre’s job, My job is to coach the team. But clearly, that position needs to be looked at. But all in all, overall save percentage, expected goals saved has to better for sure, and that’s something we’re concerned about.
If the Senators are to seek a goalie via trade, Canucks Thatcher Demko (two years remaining, $5M AAV) and Flyers Carter Hart (two years remaining, $3.98M AAV) may be available. However, each requires a solid return going the opposite way.
Two more goaltenders, Coyotes Karel Vejmelka (two years remaining, $2.275 AAV), Flames Dan Vladar (two years remaining, $2.2M) may be acquired for a lesser cost.
Short-term unrestricted free agents include Jaro Halak, Adin Hill, Antti Raanta, Semyon Varlamov.
Freddie Andersen, Joonas Korpisalo, Tristan Jarry, Ilya Samsonov will seek long-term deals, something the Senators may not want to do, especially with Sogaard likely being ready for full-time NHL duty in 2024-25 and the expected emergence of Leevi Merilainen who will have had a full AHL season under his belt, not to mention the club also has Kevin Mandolese who was impressive stopping a franchise high of 46 shots in his NHL debut.
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