The Ottawa Senators surprised many on June 26 by trading for goaltender Samuel Ersson from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 26-year-old Swedish netminder has endured some rocky seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, most recently losing his starting job to Dan Vladar while posting an .870 save percentage in 33 games.
Over the past few seasons, the Flyers have produced mixed defensive results as a team, whereas the Senators play a much more defensively structured game. The expectation appears to be that Ersson was brought in to serve as the backup to starting goaltender Linus Ullmark, or at the very least, compete for the role.
Yesterday, however, the Senators chose not to qualify Ersson. In a vacuum, that decision makes sense, as his qualifying offer would have been $1.6 million, which is a bit steep given his recent numbers. He remains an intriguing buy-low candidate with the ability to turn his game around or, at the very least, push Leevi Merilainen to elevate his play beyond last season's level. The pessimistic side, however, could say that Ersson has had four seasons to prove he is NHL calibre, and he still hasn't had an above .900 save percentage season.
The hope with Ersson is that playing behind a much stronger team will allow him to develop into a very good goaltender. During international play in 2024–25, Ersson posted an outstanding .943 save percentage over eight games while compiling a 7-1-0 record. He also stole a game for Team Sweden against the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he was teammates with Ullmark. That's the version of Ersson the Senators are betting they can bring out. General manager Steve Staios consulted closely with goaltending coach Justin Peters and Maciej Szwoch regarding Ersson, and both believe he has significant 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
That upside certainly exists, but his game is also marked by inconsistency. It never quite feels like Ersson plays to his size. Despite standing 6-foot-3, he doesn't consistently play as big as he is. However, he is an athletic goaltender who battles hard for pucks. His lateral movement and butterfly technique are both very fluid. He has the tools to become a quality NHL goaltender; he just needs a fresh start, and the Senators are in a position to provide one.
Considering Ersson did not sign for the value of his qualifying offer, a contract projection of around $1 million is likely the number the Senators are aiming to get him signed at. There won’t be many other goaltending options on the market for that price, as players like Connor Ingram and Stuart Skinner may get triple or quadruple what the asking price of Ersson is. The trade market won’t be as kind either, as with more teams, it means there are fewer readily available NHL goaltenders. Players finding success like Brandon Bussi seemingly out of nowhere are few and far between, let alone finding yet another career AHL goalie.
If the Senators front office believes in Ersson’s upside and what he can bring to the team, then fans can only hope that he lives up to those expectations, or Merilainen steals the job before he doesn’t.
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