The Ottawa Senators are betting that Samuel Ersson can get back on track.
That’s the gamble baked into the two-year, $4.4-million deal Ersson signed with Ottawa on July 1, especially after the worst statistical season of his career with the Philadelphia Flyers. Among goalies with at least 15 NHL starts in 2025-26, only one posted a worse save percentage than Ersson’s .870: his new teammate Leevi Meriläinen, who finished at .860.
Still, the Senators aren’t walking into this blind. On the first day of training camp Thursday, coach Travis Green pointed to goalie coach Justin Peters and Maciej Szwoch, Ottawa’s new coordinator of goaltending scouting and development, as people inside the organization who believe in Ersson.
“Well, I think he’s a pretty good goalie,” Green said. “I know the numbers didn’t say that last year, but I know he was better down the stretch.”
That stretch mattered. Ersson helped the Flyers hang around long enough to sneak into the Stanley Cup playoffs, backing up Dan Vladar and going 6-1-0 with a .912 save percentage after Feb. 26.
It was a strong finish after a rough run through the previous seasons. Ersson opened his NHL career with a respectable rookie year in 2022-23 at age 23, going 6-3-0 with an .899 save percentage. But as his workload grew, the numbers slid: he was 23-19-7 with an .890 save percentage in 2023-24, then 22-17-5 with an .883 save percentage in 2024-25.
Injuries have been part of the story too. Ersson has dealt with multiple groin issues during his pro career, costing him significant time and, at times, leaving him to play when he clearly wasn’t at full strength after Carter Hart was placed on leave and the Flyers needed stability in net.
There is at least one wrinkle for Ottawa to consider: workload. Ersson has traditionally performed better when he faces more shots, and that could matter in a system like the Senators’, who allowed just 24.4 shots against per game last season, tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for second-fewest in the league.
In Other News...
Senators Just Showed How Much They Mean To Ottawa Off The Ice
Long before the puck drops, the Senators have spent the season making themselves visible around Ottawa in the places that matter most. Players, alumni, staff and their families have turned up for hospital visits, fan meet-and-greets and Toy Mountain support, while the Senators Community Foundation has kept the charity work rolling through events like the Fullscript Black, Red & Gold Gala and the Sens Charity Open, along with help from community-led initiatives.
The through line has been connection, and it has shown up in plenty of forms, from CHEO visits to other outreach across the city. For a team that plays in front of a passionate market, those appearances are part of the job too, and theyve left open a larger question about just how much more the Senators can keep weaving themselves into Ottawa life beyond hockey. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Captaincy Debate Just Got More Complicated
The captaincy question around Ottawa has become a little more open-ended than many expected, and Travis Green says there is no urgency to settle it. With Brady Tkachuk gone, the Senators are taking a slower approach to a decision that could shape the tone of the dressing room, and Green has made it clear the club is willing to let the process breathe, even if that means opening the season without a captain at all.
Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot are the most obvious names to watch from inside the room, but Green is framing the discussion as one about leadership, not labels. He also brushed aside any notion that citizenship would play into the call, which only adds another layer to a conversation that already figures to linger as Ottawa sorts out what this team wants its next voice to look like. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Prospect Faces An Unexpected AHL Path Twist
A fresh wrinkle has opened up around Adam Novotnys development path, and it could matter for the Vancouver Canucks sooner than expected. The 2024 first-round pick was loaned from his Czech club to the OHLs Peterborough Petes, and for most 19-year-old CHL draftees, that kind of season would point straight back to junior hockey unless they crack an NHL roster.
A recent NHL-CHL agreement change has created a different lane for some players, though, and Novotnys situation is not the standard one. Because he was under contract in Czechia and only on loan to Peterborough, he may fit an exemption that keeps him out of the old junior-return rules and puts the AHL into the conversation this season, adding another layer to what was already a closely watched first-year development track. [Read more 🡒]