Senators Goaltending Woes… or Wonders?
At the quarter mark of the season, the Ottawa Senators’ problems are well documented. They have won only 6 of 19 games, giving them a winning percentage of .316, last in the league. They have only scored 44 goals, second worst in the league. Despite all this, I keep hearing trade rumors involving goaltenders going to the Sens, when goaltending has been the one strenght so far.While I admit that Alex Auld is not the type of goaltender a Stanley Cup contender wants has it’s number 1, the Sens have been relagated to playoff bubble team and do not need a game breaking tender. They need a goalie who is capable of keeping the Sens in games, and Auld has done that.
Auld’s statistcs so far this year have been outstanding. He has a .925 SPCT (8th in league, ahead of Lundqvist, Price, Brodeur), a 2.12 GAA (6th, in league, ahead of Lundqvist, Brodeur, Luongo). All while playing on the second worst team in the East. Thanks largely to Auld’s performance the Sens have a 2.47 GAA, 6th in league.
Could the Senators use a All Star goalie? Yes. Do they need one? No. Is Alex Auld the long term answer? Doubt it. But Auld is playing stellar hockey, giving the Sens a chance to win every night, there is no reason to send valuable assets to another team for another average goalie.
The Sens would be much better off trading their assets for real needs, such as secondary scoring and a puck moving defenseman