The Ottawa Senators acquired goaltender Samuel Ersson earlier this offseason, with many questioning why the club would spend an asset to acquire him, especially when it was reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs weren't going to qualify him as a restricted free agent. General Manager Steve Staios commented on this, saying that he had conversations with both goaltending coach Justin Peters and goaltending advisor Maciej Szwoch, who believed in Ersson's upside.
#Sens GM Steve Staios said that Maciej Szwoch and Justin Peters pointed out Samuel Ersson as a very good goalie with lots of upside. Admitted he doesn’t know as much about goalies than other positions and leans heavily on their advice before making decisions at the position.
— SENS TALK (@senstalk_) June 27, 2026
As of right now, that is all there is to believe in when it comes to Ersson. This past season was Ersson's worst, as he posted a .870 save percentage in 33 games, which would have put him in good company with the Senators' abysmal goaltending last season. The 26-year-old has been in the NHL for four seasons now, and his best season came in 2023-24 with a .890 save percentage in 51 games started. At the very least, they know that Ersson can provide them with a high volume of starts. It's even harder to grapple with because the Philadelphia Flyers found a starter in Dan Vladar, who had never been a starter or played for the Flyers before.
But that may work in Ersson's favour. Coming into a new environment, one with one of the best defensive structures in the league, can be a blessing in disguise for Ersson. It was also noted by Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast that Ersson spends too much time reading social media. It's understandable. As a high-performance athlete, everyone is going to have an opinion on your performance. If Ersson is able to give himself some grace and put any of the "outside noise" out of his head, it would work wonders for him.
Peters and Szwoch are right: Ersson does have high upside. He can play at an incredibly high level, which was shown when he took the starting job for Team Sweden at the Four Nations Face-Off. His international record is also sparkling, with a 7-1 record and a .943 save percentage for Sweden. On top of that, he now gets to play with fellow countryman Linus Ullmark, and the team has plenty of new Swedes, which can give Ersson a taste of home.
What Ersson does have is size. At 6'3", he's in the sweet spot of still being agile and quick while taking up the top portion of the net in the butterfly. He also has impressive foot speed. He's able to move around the crease easily, whether upright or in the butterfly. Finally, he's got good technical skills that make his movements more robotic but very efficient, meaning you won't see him flopping around to make saves as often. If Ersson is able to use his size, foot speed, and overall solid technical capabilities, he can definitely be successful in Ottawa.
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