Yesterday, Senators General Manager Bryan Murray spoke to the media.
It’s probably one of the league’s worst kept secrets at this point but the Ottawa Senators are looking to move one of their goalies and they are getting plenty of interest from around the National Hockey League. The Draft is now just a few weeks away and with the Senators expected to get something done just before or even at the Draft, you can expect the chatter to intensify over the next three weeks.
Here’s just a sample of what we know to this point.
-The Senators are getting plenty of calls on their goalies with as many as seven teams showing interest.
-The Edmonton Oilers and the San Jose Sharks have both made a pitch for Robin Lehner
-The San Jose Sharks and the St. Louis Blue have both shown interest in Craig Anderson.
-The Buffalo Sabres have shown interest in Robin Lehner. Craig Anderson seems to make some sense for them as well.
-The Senators expect to have everyone’s best offer within the next couple weeks.
No shortage of talk when it comes to the two goalies obviously. And while a lot of this is about Bryan Murray’s comments in the media drumming up interest around the league, the fact is there really are a number of teams calling the Senators to see what they plan to do with the extra goalie. Let me add a few things I’ve heard in the last week or so.
-Only a week ago, the San Jose Sharks seemed like the team most interested in getting a deal done.
-The Senators are very much willing to add to the goalie trade if it means bringing back a top player in return.
-There are as many as four offers on the table for Robin Lehner right now.
-One of the teams that nobody seems to be talking about that is quite interested in Robin Lehner…the Calgary Flames.
-While the Senators are definitely leaning towards dealing Lehner, it really doesn’t seem to be set in stone. If a great offer came in for Anderson, the Senators would obviously consider it.
It’s going to be an interesting few weeks for the Ottawa Senators. While they obviously don’t have to make a deal at or before the Draft if the return isn’t what they’re looking for, the teams that are calling will want to know where they stand heading into free agency.
It’s unlikely teams are putting their best offers on the table just yet but with the amount of interest there is right now, you can expect a bidding war of sorts on Ottawa’s goalies. Now that doesn’t mean a team is going to overpay but it certainly does put the Senators in a good situation.
Now it’s up to Bryan Murray and his staff to find the best deal possible.
