When will Lehner be the sens starter?

[Lehnsanity]

I have a feeling they limited Lehner last season so that they could get a cheaper contract for this season... I expect him to get a lot more starts now.

 

[OttawaOilers]

When Andy Retires.

The 'Starter' tag doesn't mean he won't get comparable games to Andy compared on how he plays; I suspect 51-31gp (Andy 51gp, Lehnny, 31gp).

 

[KevinRedkey]

I had 45 games for Andy and 37 for Lehner

 

[SixthSens]

Lehner will become the starter when he shows he deserves to be the starter.

 

[aragorn]

Lehner will become the starter when he shows he deserves to be the starter.

Exactly. Now because Anderson is in a contract yr we'll see how well he plays & it should also be noted how well the goalies in Bingo play (Hammond & Dreidger). While I like Dreidger & think he has NHL potential, I'm not sure that Hammond does & Dreidger will need a couple of yrs in Bingo at least to get NHL ready. IMO there isn't much right now behind Lehner & Anderson & Hogberg will be in Sweden for next season at least.

That leaves us with Lehner & what do we do with Anderson before the trade deadline? My guess, is that Anderson will either be traded at the deadline, if they can get something substantial in return for him but if Ottawa is in the playoff hunt, it's quite likely they keep him. The next question is whether to re-sign Anderson or not, Lehner won't like being his backup any more & Anderson at 33 yrs old may still want & think he is good enough to be a starter somewhere. If Anderson is alright about being a backup to Lehner, if & only if, Lehner beats him out, then I'd re-sign Anderson. But Ottawa needs to have this conversation this yr with Anderson before the trade deadline to get a feel for what he wants to do & is willing to do.

Otherwise, I'd trade him & get as much as I could for him. Of course, there is no guarantee that Lehner will be a great consistent starting goaltender for Ottawa either, we just all hope he can be. If Anderson does not return than BM will have to look for a decent backup who can also win some games for this team.

 

[RedWhiteBlackGold]

The one thing I want to see from Lehner this year is the ability/mentality to shrug off a weak goal. It seemed like during that stretch where Andy was out, Lehner would get pissed from our terrible D and once one got passed him he didn't seem to care much after.

 

[Back in Black]

I don't think he is ready and hopefully the Sens don't rush & ruin him!

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

The one thing I want to see from Lehner this year is the ability/mentality to shrug off a weak goal. It seemed like during that stretch where Andy was out, Lehner would get pissed from our terrible D and once one got passed him he didn't seem to care much after.

What? That's the definition of Anderson.

One of Lehner's strengths is his ability to shake off a bad goal and play brilliantly after it.

I recall one game where he didn't care much but that was after 4th goal by Boston.

 

[dumbdick]

Has he really proven much more than Emery or Elliott did in their early years here? I have confidence in him, but he needs to win it. I won't get my heart broken again.

 

[SAK11]

Has he really proven much more than Emery or Elliott did in their early years here? I have confidence in him, but he needs to win it. I won't get my heart broken again.

Yes, I'd say he's been a better goalie at this age than either of those two were, I'm sure the stats would support that, and certainly for me, the eye test certainly has Lehner as the superior talent (although I'm no scout). I thought Elliot was just okay for us even in his good years, and while Emery was tougher to judge as he played for such a great team, I still never saw him as a potential stud goalie. I do agree that he needs to win the job, though, which I think he'll do this season.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Has he really proven much more than Emery or Elliott did in their early years here? I have confidence in him, but he needs to win it. I won't get my heart broken again.

Lehner has already done something none of those guys have accomplished... carry his team to victory.

Lehner is the anti-Emery and Elliot. When the pressure is on, he actually shows up.

Even though I do remember Emery playing well under pressure too but he was wildly inconsistent in that department.

Man, I used to be enormous fan of Elliot. I thought he was the one but his mental game was very weak. I thought he'd be able to overcome it but ...

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Emery carried this team to victory in plenty of games

 

[sens83]

Lehner would have been the starter this season had the organization not yo-yo'd him and developed him properly

 

[BonkTastic]

Lehner would have been the starter this season had the organization not yo-yo'd him and developed him properly

What did the Senators organization do wrong with Lehner's development?

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

What did the Senators organization do wrong with Lehner's development?

They sat him when Anderson came back from injury. They didn't "play the hot hand." If you ignore all the games in which Lehner was bad, he was actually pretty good.

That's the common refrain here. There's no real validity to that side of the argument, but that's just my opinion.

 

[Lenny the Lynx]

What did the Senators organization do wrong with Lehner's development?

Poor asset management, missing the boat, not trading Spezza quick enough, old boys club, internal budget, no accountability, win and you're in, and signing Martin Gerber.
This imo is the problem

 

[BonkTastic]

If you ignore all the games in which Lehner was bad, he was actually pretty good.

Well, I can't fight that logic.

 

[operasen]

Exactly. Now because Anderson is in a contract yr we'll see how well he plays & it should also be noted how well the goalies in Bingo play (Hammond & Dreidger). While I like Dreidger & think he has NHL potential, I'm not sure that Hammond does & Dreidger will need a couple of yrs in Bingo at least to get NHL ready. IMO there isn't much right now behind Lehner & Anderson & Hogberg will be in Sweden for next season at least.

That leaves us with Lehner & what do we do with Anderson before the trade deadline? My guess, is that Anderson will either be traded at the deadline, if they can get something substantial in return for him but if Ottawa is in the playoff hunt, it's quite likely they keep him. The next question is whether to re-sign Anderson or not, Lehner won't like being his backup any more & Anderson at 33 yrs old may still want & think he is good enough to be a starter somewhere. If Anderson is alright about being a backup to Lehner, if & only if, Lehner beats him out, then I'd re-sign Anderson. But Ottawa needs to have this conversation this yr with Anderson before the trade deadline to get a feel for what he wants to do & is willing to do.

Otherwise, I'd trade him & get as much as I could for him. Of course, there is no guarantee that Lehner will be a great consistent starting goaltender for Ottawa either, we just all hope he can be. If Anderson does not return than BM will have to look for a decent backup who can also win some games for this team.

Voice of reason here. Well said. I concur that no-one in the system is ready for next year. Lehner gets 35 games this year imo.

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

When Lehner's rebound control is comparable to other NHL starters. Right now STILL, he handles rebounds with too much bounce. My theory is his high shot count comes from his inability to coral shots properly.

It's been a long time issue with his game and will be the one thing that prevents him from being elite unless he corrects it.

 

[dumbdick]

Judging goalies is basically impossible. It's harder to name highly touted goalies that didn't fizzle out somewhere than it is to name late rounders that went on to be superstars. Just think for a second how crazy that is.

I say load up on the Goalers, play the hot hand, and just hedge our bets.