The Ottawa Senators addressed their goaltending depth by inking Leevi Merilainen this offseason. The 23-year-old was an RFA and looking for a new contract. Given the year he had in 2025-26, he wasn’t going to be high on anyone’s radar.
So, the Senators actually made a safe bet by bringing him back on a one-year, $1.1 million deal. It’s the type of cap hit that can sit well in Belleville, in case there is no room for him at the NHL level.
And that will be the case. The Senators figure to roll with an all-Swedish tandem in Linus Ullmark and Samuel Ersson next season. As such, Merilainen will likely head to the AHL and remain there as the third stringer.
But beyond that, he’s insurance. Most notably, Merilainen will be injury insurance. There’s always the possibility that one of Ullmark or Ersson gets hurt. If they do, the Sens will need someone to step in. Hopefully, that won’t be the case. But should things get critical, Merilainen can be a stopgap for the club.
Senators may still lose Merilainen
One of the risks that the Senators face with Merilainen is that he must clear waivers to head down to the AHL. Now, there doesn’t really seem to be any risk of that happening. But assuming the Sens roll with Ullmark and Ersson, Merilainen will have to go down. Let’s also assume that Merilainen has a good camp, and there just happens to be a team desperate out there for a goalie.
All of a sudden, Merilainen wouldn’t look all that bad.
While there isn’t a huge chance of that happening, you never know. The NHL is one of the most unpredictable professional sports leagues. Injuries can happen at any time, especially with goalies. Things like groin pulls, knee injuries, or even concussions can leave teams gasping for breath.
Again, we hope none of those situations will befall the Senators this season. But like any good military commander, GM Steve Staios has to be thinking about one thing: You hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
Unfortunately, that’s the mantra of every NHL GM. The teams that don’t prepare for the worst are the ones that end up scrambling for cover. And one of those teams could throw a spanner into the works for Ottawa.
Let’s see what happens in the fall. Unless Ersson somehow has nothing at camp and Merilainen blows the doors off, the Finnish netminder could become an enticing target for some team out there.
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