The Ottawa Senators entered the playoffs hoping to last longer than they did last season, but were decimated by the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0.
As heartbreaking as the Senators’ short-lived postseason was, the team’s management will need to get back to the drawing board to straighten things out before next season rolls around. With questions surrounding their topsy-turvy goaltending department, it appears GM Steve Staios could turn to a veteran option who took his team to two Stanley Cup Finals in a row.
Rumors Arise Linking Ottawa Senators With Stuart Skinner
The Oilers-Penguins high-profile goalie swap involving Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner raised some eyebrows earlier this season. Notwithstanding Skinner’s murky reputation during his time in Edmonton, he did not have any trouble finding a new destination. Of course, the NHL goalie market is notoriously thin, especially when it comes to finding netminders with adequate playoff experience.
Skinner has featured in four playoffs series in his career, and in two of them, he went all the way to the finale with the Oilers. The 27-year-old has a save percentage of .892 over four playoff seasons. According to Sportsnet’s Alex Adams, this is precisely why Staois could be interested in acquiring Skinner.
“I could see the Senators looking to Stuart Skinner for a tandem-type role with Linus Ullmark since Skinner has tons of playoff experience,” speculated Adams in his recent mailbag.
Skinner is approaching the end of his three-year contract, and there is a good chance that we have already seen the last of him in a Penguins shirt. The three games Skinner opened for the Pens ended in losses. It was only when Arturs Silovs stepped in did Pittsburgh make a comeback against the Philadelphia Flyers.
By the look of things right now, Skinner will be available on the market in July as an unrestricted free agent, and Staois could be interested.
Amid the Sens’ many shortcomings, including a crumbling defense and a lukewarm offense, Linus Ullmark played remarkably well. Ullmark battled adverse circumstances off the ice to put up an admirable performance against the Canes. Over his four appearances, the veteran goaltender registered a career-high postseason SV% of .932.
A tandem of Ullmark and Skinner could certainly be the right step for the Senators to come back stronger next season. The team was pitted against the notoriously experienced Canes and played a crucial Game 4 without its top defensive pairing, Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub. Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle also failed to score, leading to a perfect storm of the worst factors to end Ottawa’s run.
While a change in the goalie situation could help, a deep postseason run for the Senators warrants a more holistic approach.
