Entering the 2014/2015 season, goaltending was considered a strength for the Ottawa Senators.
They had an established veteran starter in Craig Anderson signed to a reasonable contract and young prospect of sorts in Robin Lehner, seemingly ready to make the jump as an everyday starter, also signed to a cap-friendly deal. And then Andrew Hammond burst on to the scene and complicated a once straightforward situation.
It could get even more complicated if the Senators are successful in their pursuit of Boston University goalie Matt O’Connor.
The Senators are considered one of four finalists in the O’Connor sweepstakes, joined by the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and the New York Rangers. O’Connor is expected to make the final stop on his cross-continent tour in New York today. He’s expected to make a decision as early as this weekend.
Matt O’Connor is a 6’5 goalie that went undrafted in his draft year back in 2010. He’s coming off an outstanding season at BU even though his final game is one he’d certainly like to wipe from his memory. The 23 year old O’Connor finished the season with a 25-4-4 record including a 2.18 GAA and a .927 save percentage.
When you look at the teams involved, the Edmonton Oilers obviously jump out. They have huge question marks in goal and are a young team that could immediately give O’Connor a chance to be a starting goalie. They have to be considered the favourite here. With that said, Todd Reynolds was on TSN 1200 this afternoon and had nothing but good things to say about the visit to Ottawa and stressed that the priority for O’Connor is not making the jump straight to the pros, which is probably good news for the Senators’ bid.
And for what it’s worth, the people I’ve talked to about this really feel like the Senators have a good shot. This may seem like a strange destination for O’Connor when you consider the goaltending depth that already exists in the system but according to Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen, the Senators told O’Connor they plan to move a goalie to make room for him.
Quite sure the Senators told free agent BU prospect Matt O’Connor the org would be trading a goalie in the future to clear room for him.
— Wayne Scanlan (@HockeyScanner) April 24, 2015
Talk about making a guy feel wanted.
The fact of the matter is the Senators were seriously considering moving a goalie this summer even without the emergence of Andrew Hammond and the potential addition of Matt O’Connor.
You can expect to hear both Anderson and Lehner in the rumour mill this summer although as of the last couple months of the season, it certainly sounded like Lehner was the odd man out. That can change. Anderson is coming off a spectacular playoff and is veteran starter signed to a cap-friendly deal. Teams will be calling. Meanwhile Andrew Hammond is an unrestricted free agent and while Ottawa plans on making an offer, Hammond will have a chance to listen to other offers if he so desires.
There are many storylines to watch this off season but one of the most unpredictable is in the crease.
Dave Cameron and Bryan Murray both had their season-ending media availabilities today. Plenty of interesting stuff from both of them. Will have a little more in-depth post on what we heard from Murray tomorrow but in the meantime, the videos of both Cameron and Murray, courtesy of SensTV.
