Senators trade Auld to Stars
The Ottawa Senators today traded journeyman goaltender Alex Auld to the Dallas Stars for a sixth round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Auld had a decent season for the Sens, going 16-18-7 with a 2.47 GAA and .911 Save % on a team which never recovered from Gerber’s bad start. This trade can mean one of several things:
1. Dallas (obviously) is no longer in the market for a goaltender.
2. The Sens are slowly but surely unloading salary in order to fit Kovalev and Heatley under the cap and re-sign Brian Elliot, their only remaining RFA. Auld makes $1 million next season leaving the Sens to shed an additional $750k through trades or demotions heading into next season. It also may be an indication that interest in Heatley has completely dried up for now.
3. Brian Elliot has solidified himself a job in the NHL next year as Leclaire’s backup. Given the way Elliot played last year, the Sens should have a decent tandem next year. Depending on what contract Elliot gets (I would reckon 1-1.3 million) more moves should be coming out of Ottawa in the near future.