50mil vs. 69mil

[Micklebot]

Craig Anderson last season: 25-16-8, Save % .911
Robin Lehner last season: 12-15-6, Save % .913

Craig Anderson with Sens: 81-52-17, Save % .920
Robin Lehner sith Sens: 21-24-10, Save % .918

Craig Anderson career: 168-135-26, Save % .915
Robin Lehner career (same as with Sens category): 21-24-10, Save % .918

Robin Lehner has the potential to be better than Andy, but he is not there yet. I do think the Sens will let Andy walk simply because they cannot afford to tie up enough budget space in goaltending to keep him. However, I think it has to be said that getting rid of Andy is a huge gamble. If Andy is out we instantly go from having solid goaltending for the first stretch in franchise history (since Andy got here, really), to pinning our hopes on a young goalie with 61 games of NHL experience and with an overall career losing record.

The big difference to me between Andy and Lehner is Anderson is much better at moving the puck, directing traffic, and knowing when to move the puck and when to freeze it. He makes it easier for the team to give him goal support, and that's a skill goalies need time to develop.

 

[HavlatMach9]

thanks for posting a lineup MAK. it's hard to say how even our current lineup will do nevermind the trimmed one. We lose out on mentors who've been in the city and on the team for a long time, and I think it would negatively impact Lehner in terms of dealing with pressure and our young dmen. Neil has the right attitude and we lose out on teaching our young players that.

The big difference to me between Andy and Lehner is Anderson is much better at moving the puck, directing traffic, and knowing when to move the puck and when to freeze it. He makes it easier for the team to give him goal support, and that's a skill goalies need time to develop.

Anderson is just exceptional at that. I'm not expecting Lehner to get there, and that fine because other good goalies also lack that.

 

[Sensinitis]

They both are pretty bad at moving the puck tbh, lol.

Number of times I've seen one or the other pass/clear the puck right to the opposing team is too damn high.

 

[We Want the Cup 2010]

A 4 yr contract that is backloaded (4.0, 4.5, 5.25, 6.25) AAV of 5.0M per season might work for both sides.

Ottawa could move Anderson when they feel the time is right that way, insulate Lehner, keep the goaltending a strength, provide assets when they do trade him, and help preserve the precious budget for a year or two.

 

[StefanW]

We aren't pinning our hopes on a young goalie with 61 games of NHL experience and with an overall career losing record if we let Andy walk a year from now.

Lehner, by then, could have 100+ games and 40+ wins. Obviously still relatively inexperienced, but much better.

Also keep in mind we'll probably get an experienced backup ala Auld like we did a few years back, who could take over for about 20 games a year.

That is true if we stick with him for this season. I assume we will, but scenarios are floated that argue Lehner is already better and we can safely let Andy walk now. That, IMO, would be a terrible idea.

We can only speculate about the number of starts and wins Lehner has this season. He could be injured for the year in training camp for all we know. I prefer to deal with facts, and hypotheticals are what they are.

 

[aragorn]

Anderson will have two thirds of the season to change management`s mind whether to re-sign him or trade him at the deadline. That also gives Lehner the same amount of time to prove he can handle #1 goalie duties in the NHL. If Lehner proves he has finally arrived & takes the #1 job away from Anderson then BM can move Anderson for whatever Ottawa may need going forward into the playoffs. Although that could also be difficult should Lehner get hurt after the deadline, Anderson would be good insurance to keep around.

Then Anderson could walk away at the end of the season for nothing. Why not re-sign Anderson for another 2 yrs to keep Lehner fighting to hold the top job & not get complasant. Anderson would make a pretty good backup goalie until one of Dreidger or Hogberg are ready for prime time & to challenge Lehner for the top job. If Anderson wants to stay in Ottawa & doesn't mind fightig Lehner for the top job I would re-sign Anderson.

 

[StefanW]

Anderson will have two thirds of the season to change management`s mind whether to re-sign him or trade him at the deadline. That also gives Lehner the same amount of time to prove he can handle #1 goalie duties in the NHL. If Lehner proves he has finally arrived & takes the #1 job away from Anderson then BM can move Anderson for whatever Ottawa may need going forward into the playoffs. Although that could also be difficult should Lehner get hurt after the deadline, Anderson would be good insurance to keep around.

Then Anderson could walk away at the end of the season for nothing. Why not re-sign Anderson for another 2 yrs to keep Lehner fighting to hold the top job & not get complasant. Anderson would make a pretty good backup goalie until one of Dreidger or Hogberg are ready for prime time & to challenge Lehner for the top job.

I can't agree with much of this. Lehner will be our starter in 2 years, and Andy will be out. The reason is not based on play or changing anyone's mind. Instead, it is all about age and budget. Andy will be hitting regression years in his next contract, and Lehner will be on the statistical upswing. The budget says we can't keep both, so Andy goes.

The problem with signing Andy to an extension is we may not be able to move him. If we sign him to a small extension at say 2X3.5 MM, and we can't move him, we lose the ability to keep a good forward or an ok D. Goalies are worth little in the trade market, so all of that risk would be in the hope that someone would be desperate enough to give us a 2nd or 3rd round pick for him down the road.

The HF board version of asset management seems to always tilt in the direction of trying to squeeze out every pick possible. However, it is sometimes better to let a player play out the string and walk then to become shackled to a contract you don't want down the road.

 

[Xspyrit]

I would have went as high as 2 probably. Hopefully 1.5 though

Still no guarantee that Roy would have signed in Ottawa. Maybe he hates the team and the city for all we know, or hates the weather, hates the taxes, etc. Team is stacked with young talent, they did bring ONE UFA, and glad they chose Legwand over Derek Roy.

Roy would take Greening's spot.

On your line-up, he is taking 3rd LW, which could be Legwand, Pageau, Lazar, Hoffman, Prince, Puempel, Guptill... I personally don't like Roy's overall game, not sure how much he could bring to the team. We have many guys who should get a better opportunity than him, particularly on the PP

Not sure what this means, but if Roy is taking the spot of a lesser player than him, it's all good.

Your assumption is that he would be worth it on a young rebuilding team. Again, we have many young forwards who need opportunities. We signed Legwand on a very good contract, no need for Roy

Cool. I don't think I would have let him go in the first place. I would have offered him more than 900K (what he got with the Avs) to come back.

Jesse Winchester has been dealing many injuries at that time, which is why he is gone off the team. Still is a depth player, nothing to cry about

slight downgrade if at all to save money. worth it

You say slight downgrade when it could potentially be a major downgrade. It's impossible to know the future so not worth arguing but I personally prefer to have proven goaltending. Andy's contract is not a lot of money too, Downgrade Anderson to Peters to save what? 1.8 per? And for the record, Andy is not the back-up, he's still the N.1 until Lehner takes it away from him. I think the Sens we will be waiting for Lehner to post a winning record before doing so, winning is the most important thing for NHL goalies.

Then Peters goes in. Peters is a solid goalie who had a solid year. There was also many good backup goalies available on the market this year, pick your favourite if you don't like Peters.

Again, assumptions. I don't go that route much

Anderson did NOT save the day whatsoever last year. He only stepped in for Lehner when Lehner was on a roll and thus killed his momentum. I don't remember Anderosn playing well for any stretch of games tbh.

Andy has been a 0.920 goalie in regular season and 0.926 in playoffs with the Sens. Not sure what you are expecting. Hence why your assumptions are borderline crazy

Phillips becoming Boro is an upgrade imo. Claesson being an injury call up is perfect. Those 7D I had + Claesson would make me pretty happy.

In your opinion like you said. If the Sens management felt they had major upgrades options, Phillips wouldn't have been signed, even if there is more than on-ice contributions that Phillips bring, which you are omitting anyway

Michalek has played with Spezza his whole Sens career. He had 17 goals last year WITH Spezza. In his last 122 games with the Sens, Michalek has played at a 17 goal/82 game pace.

I don't expect more than 15-20 from Michalek this year, maybe less because Spezza is gone.

Jussi Jokinen, Vrbata, even Grabovski, Mathieu Perreault, Brad Richards,.... all better options than Michalek

17 goals is still decent production, Michalek has been dealing with injuries and is now starting back to be healthy. Let's see how he plays without Spezza before condemning him, no?

Still need to be able to land any of those guys. Michalek + Legwand instead of Spezza + Kassian, you save a bit of money and get better 2-way play and maybe even better production (Spezza had 15 more points than Legwand last year)

He was a UFA earlier in the summer and easily could have signed in the event that Anderson as not here. Offer him 1.2 or so and I don't see why he wouldn't sign. Also, there were many goalie options

Assumptions, I'm not sure Peters was ever considered. Let's see what the Sens do when Ady (great) contract actually expires. We will need to see it before making more judgements.