Ottawa Senators Need to Address Goaltending in the Offseason
It seemed that Ottawa’s goaltending was set after general manager Pierre Doiron traded Filip Gustavsson for Cam Talbot on July 22, 2022. However, the play in the net for the Senators has been anything but consistent for the entirety of the season.
Injuries are largely to blame for the inconsistencies between the pipes. In his first year with Ottawa, Talbot has found himself on the injured list on four separate occasions. Ottawa’s woes continued with Anton Forsberg suffering a season-ending double MCL tear.
Out of goalies who have played more than ten games for Ottawa, Forsberg was statistically the best. The eight-year veteran had a .908 save percentage and goals above expected of 8.3 both are team-leading.
The consequence of these injuries is Ottawa has had to rely on a continuous carousel of young goaltenders while they tried to sneak into a wild card position. The Senators rolled out seven different starting netminders this campaign, which is one behind the 2019 Philadelphia Flyers for the most goalies used in a season.
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There are plenty of pending UFA goalies coming up which gives Ottawa a plethora of options when it comes to upgrading its goaltending situation. The checklist when it comes to potential candidates is relatively simple; minimal injury history and consistency.
Joonas Korpisalo seems like a clear-cut fit for Ottawa if they chose the free agency route to deal with their goaltending problems. Despite ending last year on the injured reserve with a hip injury the Los Angeles Kings netminder has had a relative clean bill of health this year. In terms of performance, Korpisalo put up a career-high save percentage and has posted a goals saved above expected of 13.0 splitting time with the Kings and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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They very well could opt to roll with their young goaltenders to back up a returning Forsberg depending on how the organization views the Swede post-injury recovery. This scenario will primarily depend on how the team feels about the prospect of Mads Sogaard being a permanent fixture in the lineup. The young Dane has featured in 18 games winning eight of those games.
Whatever decision Doiron makes this offseason, the answer to this problem might be the most important choice he makes.