Could Anders Nilsson be the starter after Anderson?

Is there a possibility that Anders Nilsson can permanently become the Senators starter, once Craig Anderson retires?

Anders Nilsson has been a pretty good goalie for the Senators so far, but can he take the next step and take the reigns of the starter?

It’s unlikely he’ll do it but he is playing significantly better hockey than Craig Anderson, so it’s definitely possible.

He’s 29 years old, which is the prime age for a goaltender. So if he does somehow become the starter he will have maybe a decade even, left in the tank.

Last year he was brought over from Vancouver in a deal that sent nothing of significance to Vancouver, while Ottawa gets a solid goalie. Easy win for Ottawa on that trade.

He started off this year as one of the top goalies in the league, but has since then cooled off a bit. He’s not playing as dominant anymore but is still a viable option for fantasy teams.

The Senators goaltending has been a large issue for the past two seasons, but their goalies this year haven’t been bad at all. Craig Anderson is playing like a good backup, and Nilsson is playing like an average starter, which is great for a rebuilding team like the Senators.

They have a plethora of young goalies in the pipeline namely Filip Gustavsson, Joey Daccord, Marcus Hogberg, Mads Sogaard and even sixth round pick Kevin Mandolese. The goaltending prospect cupboard is absolutely stacked with goodies for the future.

Joey Daccord is proving himself to be a very good goalie at the AHL level, Hogberg is fine-tuning his play enough to deserve a call up to the NHL, and Gustavsson has been playing well of late.

The Senators should have nothing to worry about when it comes to the future of their goaltending.

But in the meantime Anders Nilsson is a very good option as a placeholder for when the prospects start showing up at the NHL level.