The Ottawa Senators are staring at a goaltending problem, and the latest loss to the St. Louis Blues only made it louder.
In Tuesday night’s 7-2 thumping, backup Samuel Ersson allowed seven goals on 26 shots, a rough outing that pushed the conversation around Ottawa’s crease into full view. Through three appearances this season, Ersson has taken two losses and posted a 5.29 GAA and an .829 SV%. Those numbers have left Senators fans with plenty to worry about.
That’s why Jonas Johansson deserves a look.
Ottawa acquired Johansson after what now looks like a costly mistake in placing Leevi Merilainen on waivers. The organization went with Ersson over Merilainen, and the results haven’t been pretty.
Johansson may not be a Vezina Trophy winner, but he did enough in Tampa Bay to show he can handle backup duty. Last season, he played in 25 games, picked up 11 wins, and finished with a 3.29 GAA and an .884 SV%.
Those numbers aren’t eye-popping, but they’re clearly more workable than what Ersson has given Ottawa so far. With Johansson’s experience behind Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Senators’ obvious need for stability in net, the case for a change is easy to make.
The catch is the roster shuffle that comes with it. Bringing Johansson up from Belleville shouldn’t be a problem; he can be recalled quickly.
The tougher part is what happens to Ersson. If Ottawa wants to send him to the AHL, he’d have to clear waivers first, and that creates at least some danger for the club.
The risk of losing him is probably small. Ersson has not played well enough to make another team rush in to claim him, and his $2.2 million cap hit won’t exactly invite a bidding war. Still, if he does get claimed, Ottawa would be dealing with a depth issue in goal and might have to find another netminder just to rebuild the organization’s goalie pool.
So the question becomes whether Steve Staios can really afford to keep waiting. Maybe Ersson gets one more start. If that doesn’t turn into a win, the pressure to make a move in the backup role is only going to intensify.
At least one thing is settled: Linus Ullmark is playing out of his mind, which gives the Senators some room to breathe while the backup situation sorts itself out.
In Other News...
Senators Suddenly Have A Scoring Void A Former Canadien Could Fill
The Senators attack took a hit when William Eklund went in for surgery on a torn tendon, and the timing could hardly be worse for a team looking to keep its offense moving. Eklund is expected to miss 10 to 12 weeks, leaving Ottawa with a noticeable scoring gap at a spot where finishers matter and where the power play can tilt games one way or the other.
That is why Patrik Laine has entered the conversation, with his camp and the Senators having discussed a possible fit. Laine would make sense as a shooter who could plug into the man advantage and give Ottawa another dangerous option, but there is still no agreement in place, and for now the idea remains just that - an idea the Senators may keep weighing as they look for help up front. [Read more 🡒]
Senators May Have Found An Answer In This Injury Shuffle
William Eklunds injury left Ottawa with a hole to fill, and Travis Green responded by shuffling the forward groups in a way that gave the Senators a different look against the Islanders. Stephen Halliday was bumped to the left side of the top line, while Ridly Greig slid into the middle on the fourth line, a tweak that helped settle the group in a tight game that the Senators eventually won 2-1 in a shootout.
The changes were more than just temporary patchwork, because Ottawa needed some kind of answer after losing a key winger and Greens lineup choices immediately put familiar names in unfamiliar spots. Hallidays promotion and Greigs move down the lineup gave the Senators a new center of gravity on a night when structure mattered, and it will be worth watching whether this alignment sticks as the team tries to navigate the weeks ahead without Eklund. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Tkachuk Just Made His Ottawa Return Even More Personal
Brady Tkachuks latest stretch in Florida has already given his season a very different look. After a slow start, he has ripped off back-to-back hat tricks for the Panthers and, in the wake of his latest performance, spent part of his postgame interview praising Florida fans as the best in the NHL.
Now comes the next layer to the storyline, and it will unfold in Ottawa. Tkachuk is set to make his return to Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday for his first NHL game in the city as a Panther, a visit that figures to carry some extra edge given the offseason move that sent him south. The reception should be a loud one, and not all of it will be warm. [Read more 🡒]