Ottawa's Future

Robin Lehner (January 31, 2011 - Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images North America)

In one of my recent posts I said that Robin Lehner was going to be the backup next season in Ottawa and slowly take time away from Crain Anderson as seasons go on.  I think Lehner’s confidence in himself made me think he’s farther in his development then he really is.  He is only 19 and definitely needs time to develop in the minor leagues.  He has only participated in 26 games this year and the consistent movement between the NHL and AHL has slowed his development this season.  Assistant Ottawa GM Tim Murray has penciled Lehner in as the starter for Binghamton next season and management has the intention of Lehner playing 50 plus games down there.  In this article, Robin Lehner is realizing he needs time to develop and understands his situation, even though he wants to be in Ottawa. 

Curtis McElhinney(Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)

In addition, Curtis McElhinney finds himself in an interesting position for next season.  He’s a free agent this summer and Curtis has bounced around since last season.  Ottawa is his fourth NHL (Calgary, Anaheim, Tampa Bay, and Ottawa) team in less than two full seasons.  He has played his best all season in Ottawa, even if he’s only started five games, winning three of them.  Defeating the surging Devils and the Lightning twice; the team that traded for him and waved him after four days without giving him a chance to even dress for a game.  He’s giving Ottawa a good reason to resign him as their backup next season. McElhinney is also raising his stock in a pretty flooded goalie market this offseason.  As well Curtis McElhinney thinks he makes a decent fit in Ottawa, even with Anderson signed for 4 years, but as of now McElhinney is just focused on having fun and playing the best that he can.



Andy

Craig Anderson (March 9, 2011 - Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)

So Craig Anderson is going to be in Ottawa for the next four seasons.  I think it's an interesting choice by Craig after Colorado recently traded him to the worst team in the east and he was headed to be an unrestricted free agent July 1.  Here is a good article on what could happen to Anderson now that he’s locked in with Ottawa.  It seems it could be the demise of Anderson’s career or he could put the Senators back into the playoffs as Ray Emery did.

This move seems interesting to me with Ottawa having two goalie prospects in Robin Lehner and Mike Brodeur.  I would expect maybe a two year deal for Anderson, maybe three.  That way Lehner could backup the next season or so.  He would take on more games as time progressed then take over as the full time starter for Ottawa.  Then again, as mentioned in the article, Ottawa has been through more than a handful of goalies over the past few seasons and consistency is something lacking in Ottawa's past goalies.  Anderson had a great first full season as a starter in Colorado, helping them reach the playoffs and giving them a chance to win every night.  He was also a really reliable backup for the majority of his career.  This year was a little shaky, but the trade has refocused Anderson and he’s started to play decent for the last place Eastern Conference team.  This looks to be a good move for the Senators and for Anderson as they are both looking to get some stability for themselves.  What’s the worst that could happen for Ottawa…they could end up with a great backup, but at $3.18 a season it's not a terrible waste of cap space, and current trends have teams paying goalies around that amount.

Robin who?

Robin Lehner (Getty Images)

This guy needs to wake up....Robin Lehner definitely has a potentially solid career ahead of him.  But at 19 he has a lot of maturing and growing up to do....seems that he feels like he should be in the show and has no desire to float back and forth between Ottawa and Binghamton to gain experience and get a decent amount of playing time.  Binghamton's fans are not too happy with his attitude and would rather have the favored hard working and solid playing Barry Brust in the net. 

Lehner needs to learn that he needs to earn his time in the NHL; it is definitely not handed to him or anyone else.  In the few games he has played for Ottawa his stats seem ehhh...promising is a stretch at the moment, in the AHL they have been better but he’s only played 28 professional games between the two leagues...He definitely seems quite cocky as well, "I'm hunting the goalies in front of me..."  What a nice way to say watch out Craig Anderson. And Pascal Leclaire, well he would probably be an easy kill since he’s already wounded....but hey Lehner could continue to take cheap shots on goalies in hopes he hurts them...

Little word from the wise Robin...you still have to earn your minutes in the AHL or anywhere you end up... there’s 5 goalies in the Ottawa's system that have more pro experience then you... and according to your coach, Kurt Kleinendorst, "I think Robin, he has got to earn that net."