With the late season signing of Craig Anderson, the Ottawa Senators have solidified their number one goalie for next season. Having Anderson in the fold long term will make the starting goalie decision much easier for the Sens next head coach.
But for Bryan Murray, one of his off season priorities will be tracking down a guy who can play the role of back up next season.
A late season waiver wire acquisition, Curtis McElhinney did an admirable job as the team’s number two. He bounced around a lot last season but certainly looked comfortable in the starts he got with Ottawa down the stretch. A UFA heading into next season, McElhinney will definitely be one of the options Murray considers.
The club has made it pretty clear they plan to let Robin Lehner spend a full season down in Bingo. This was a weird season for Lehner between injuries and call ups so a full season in the minors would likely be good for his long term development.
Murray will have a number of options when free agency opens up and one reader thinks Murray should consider bringing back an old fan favourite. Here is what SensChirp reader Larry had to say…
Ottawa will be looking for a backup it looks like. It would be a good move, cheap and I am sure fans would love to welcome back as a backup Patrick Lalime. He wants to play in Ottawa and last free agency he waited around to see if Ottawa would pick him up again. After they signed Auld he went to Buffalo. I think Lalime should be a consideration to back up Anderson.
Lalime is a UFA at the end of the season and would definitely be an affordable back up. Ottawa looked at bringing him back in the past so you would assume he would still be interested. Lalime was a fan favourite during his time in Ottawa and as his NHL career nears the end, would likely be very receptive to the idea of coming back to the Nation’s Capital.
Murray will have a few options when he goes shopping this summer. Here is a list of some of the other guys that will be available. Who do you like?
-Giguere, Roloson, Smith, Hedberg, Osgood, Conklin, Turco, Garon, Harding, Theodore, Auld, Boucher
Bingo dropped game three of their first round series and now trail the best of seven, 2-1. Manchester scored just 1:43 in to the first overtime period to steal game three in Binghamton.
Game 4 of that series goes tomorrow night
