Senators re-sign goalie Chris Driedger
Sens now have six goalies under contract
The Ottawa Senators announced today that they have re-signed goaltender Chris Driedger to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The deal carries an NHL salary of $735k and an AHL salary of $70k, and Driedger is slated to be a restricted free agent once it expires.
Driedger was drafted by the Sens in the third round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He spent the majority of last season with the Binghamton Senators, where he outdueled Matt O’Connor for the starting job. Driedger’s performance on a less-than-stellar Binghamton squad is likely a major reason why he’s received this extension, while O’Connor wasn’t qualified by Ottawa.
With Driedger’s extension, the Senators have six goalies under contract for 2017-18 season. Craig Anderson, Mike Condon and Andrew Hammond are on one-way NHL deals, so Driedger will likely be battling Marcus Hogberg (who was recently signed to his entry-level contract) and newly-signed Danny Taylor for the starting job with the Belleville Senators. Given that Taylor’s deal ($850k in the NHL, $250k in the AHL) is worth significantly more than Driedger’s, you can probably pencil Taylor into the starting job.
It remains to be seen where the odd-goalies-out may end up, since the Senators do not have an ECHL affiliate for the upcoming year.